A pregnant panhandler is coming under fire for the car she drove away in – a Mercedes Benz. The woman was begging for money with a small child by her side in the San Diego area this week, until someone caught her possibly taking advantage of people who believe she needs it more than she does.
A resident of the Eastlake Village Center in Chula Vista, Melissa Smith, is warning community members not to give this woman money.
"Lots of people gave them money. Probably five people in five minutes gave them money,” Smith told ABC10. "I noticed they grabbed their little boy and they got into a Mercedes Benz. I thought, 'Wow, a Mercedes Benz. It's not even used -- it's not old. It's a new Benz.'"
Smith said she was pumping gas when she realized the woman and child get into the Mercedes. They then happened to be driving ahead of her.
"Here they are counting money, laughing,” she said. She also took photos to show others not to give them money. “They don't need it.”
It unfortunately almost turned violent when the woman saw Smith taking pictures of her, revealing she picked up a boulder and threatened her with it. “She puts it over her head and starts coming at me with this rock,” she explained.
Later, the family was seen again by the 10news team, who confronted them about the Mercedes. They denied it and sped away in a mini-van. After running their plates it was revealed they live in a Escondido, Calif. apartment complex where the units cost $2,500 per month.