Tattooed
The Matlock Blog:
Yesterday in the 213th District Court, Phyllis Dawn Harvey, known as the "Tattoo Bandit" got tattooed by a Tarrant County jury for her 12 day crime spree last July and into August. The spree began July 21 with a carjacking in Euless, and continued with robberies in Arlington, Bedford, Euless, Fort Worth, Grapevine, Hurst, North Richland Hills and Richland Hills. Generally, all of her victims were women.
According to prosecutors, Ms. Harvey would use a ruse of asking for change or attempting to buy a lottery ticket to get her victims to lower their guard. According to Ms. Harvey, her crimes were simply a means to feed her drug habit.
The jury apparently felt little compassion for the Bandit, and sentenced her to 18 life sentences as well as a 75 year sentence. That's not good for the Bandit. A life sentence of course means the person would have to serve at least 30 years before they are eligible for parole. So Ms. Harvey has that to look forward to, right?
Well, maybe not. You see, the Bandit was on parole after serving about 10 years of a 30 years sentence for a 1992 shoplifting (of steaks for crying out loud!) and subsequent carjacking. As a result, she must complete her first sentence, the remaining 20 years, before she will even begin her 18 life sentences. Ouch.
Ms. Harvey was dubbed the "Tattoo Bandit" because of a distinctive rosary tattoo on her wrist that had been detailed by many of her victims. Police recognized the tattoo on Harvey and arrested her during a routine traffic stop.
Defense attorney Lex Johnston planned to appeal.