Caught on camera: Pregnant beggar with boy drives off in a Mercedes-Benz

a pregnant woman begging for money on the street with a young boy drove away in a mercedes an outraged viewer contacted team 10 after snapping pictures of that scene team 10 troubleshooter kristen severance joins us now with more krista yes so this 10 news viewer said she'd wondered the story behind this woman for two months then she said she saw her get into her mercedes and drive away she wants you to know what happened in case you see the same woman asking for money right there on the corners melissa smith said she saw this pregnant panhandler and her son at this east lake plaza every weekend i felt bad i mean there's a pregnant lady with a little boy and is down on her luck the dad comes out on the weekends and stands with them she held a cardboard sign please help and plenty of people did lots of people give them money smith said she was getting gas when she saw the couple at the usual spot they were leaving and i noticed they went into a mercedes-benz and i thought wow a mercedes-benz she shook her head got in her car and drove away lo and behold they were in front of us and here they are counting money laughing they're little boys not in a car seat or a seat belt he's all the way in the front seats with them smith watched them drive to another plaza on bonita road she sits there with a sign he goes park some mercedes and they put up the sign in not less than five minutes here she is getting money from all these people she took pictures of the woman and little boy she said the woman saw her next thing i know she picks up this big boulder about this big goes over her head so i don't know pregnant people can do that but it was pretty big overhead and coming at me with this rock another witness saw the whole thing and called 9-1-1 she grabs her little boy and takes off through the middle of the parking lot police told team 10 they did respond but the couple had left smith gave team 10 the license plate number two we ran the plates the car came back belonging to a woman her address was listed here at this apartment complex in encinitas no answer i left my card in a note to call me we went in the evening and during the day a woman called me back but said she had just moved in the people living there had picked up and left smith said she wants people to know about this couple before they find a new place to panhandle with their son in tow i feel bad like don't give these people money they don't need it they're driving the bends now we have been getting calls and tips about where this woman is we're checking out one of those tips right now and this story has really struck a chord online thousands of people have been sharing and commenting on our 10 news facebook page homeless advocates say though you shouldn't give people money but there are plenty of things you can do to make sure your donations go to the right people we have a list of suggestions from experts on 10news.com just go to the team 10 section and click on this story i'm team 10 troubleshooter kristen severance

Channel: ABC 10 News

Views: 19,730,807

Keywords: Mercedes-Benz (Automobile Company), Caught on camera, caught, Pregnancy, Pregnant, Pregnant beggar, beggar, Benz, Mecedes, hoax, fraud, scam, fake, mystery, homeless, homelessness, family, rich, poor, wealth, San Diego, panhandle, panhandler, panhandler busted, panhandler caught driving expensive car, Facebook, Viral Video, Local news

Id: CynYgP8PcWc

Length: 3min 0sec (180 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 11 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/laauc]

Here is a follow up of where they found the lady again https://youtu.be/hh04mtfABWw

[u/vicaphit]

I've seen this exact thing. Guy panhandling asking for groceries. Saw him 10 minutes later putting groceries into a buick.

[u/cleverquack]

Not suggesting this is their reality too. But I've personally been in situations where I have a negative balance in my bank account and my father had an old Benz. Based on the car you could think we were doing fine, but the truth was we were hemorrhaging money. Getting evicted, debt collectors, etc. We still haven't rebounded even with my newly found income now supporting my family. I commonly have to concern myself about another eviction.

Not trying to protect these people or say that you should give people money on the street. But I don't think it's as easy as "they don't need help, they drive a Benz".

[u/Lethik]

Sadly, this is why I don't give homeless people money.

[u/bscarth]

people love these stories because it relieves the guilt/discomfort that poor people exist when you can believe that they are all really just scammers and not actually poor. Of course for every one of these people there are hundreds of actual homeless people who are suffering, yet these stories feed the belief that you shouldn't give money to the 'scammers' and the real homeless end up suffering.

edit: thanks for the gold, I promise not to spend it on drugs

[u/mraevil]

I like how they had to use forensic software to analyze her face... Like you couldn't just look closely with your own eyes?

[u/[deleted]]

She used to beg outside of the Costco by my house, I suspected foul play when I saw her begging in Gucci sunglasses. Nice to know I was right.

[u/o0flatCircle0o]

Republican porn

[u/10footSamsquanch]

I cant decide who these videos make me dislike more, people who beg for money or crappy local news journalists