Crime Wave

Police arrest person of interest in 9 South Dallas rapes

UPDATE: On September 12, Dallas police released a statement that Alan Mason is no longer a person of interest in this case. Another man, Van Dixon, was arrested September 10 after DNA evidence tied him to several of the sexual assaults.

Just two days after revealing to the public that a serial rapist was on the loose in South Dallas, police have taken "a person of interest" into custody. Alan Mason, a 29-year-old black male, is being questioned in connection with the crimes at Dallas Police headquarters.

No related charges are pending at this time, and Mason is said to be fully cooperating with the investigation. He was booked into Lew Sterrett jail at 9 am September 6 and is being held without bond.

After receiving an anonymous tip, police sent out an alert for Mason around midnight on September 6. He was taken into custody three hours later in the 2500 block of Summer Tree Circle in Arlington. At 5-foot 10-inches and 185 pounds, Mason fits the description of the alleged attacker. He also drives a 2001 silver Honda like the one believed to be used as a getaway car from several of the sexual assaults.

Mason was arrested without incident for outstanding warrants in McKinney and Mesquite.

Since announcing that seven unsolved sexual assaults in South Dallas were related, two more victims have come forward, bring the total number of crimes to nine. The crimes occurred between June 22 and September 1 in an area bordered by East RL Thornton Freeway, Haskell Avenue, Spring Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard.

The victims were attacked while walking in the early morning hours (between midnight and 6 am). The suspect uses a handgun to force his victims into a secluded area, where they are robbed and sexually assaulted.

In response to the violent crime spree, police have conducted community meetings and increased patrols. South Dallas residents have been asked to take special precautions to not walk alone in the area during early morning hours.

On Twitter Dallas police chief David Brown urged caution in the wake of the first arrest in connection with the series of crimes. He emphasized that Mason has not been charged.

@DPDChief we will keep you informed we won't rest till we have the right person but we won't rush and charge the wrong person

— Chief David O. Brown (@DPDChief) September 6, 2013

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Coworking News

New-style coworking concept Switchyards from Atlanta to open in Dallas

Switchyards

A new kind of shared workspace is coming to Dallas: Called Switchyards, it's an Atlanta based chain that calls itself "the world’s first neighborhood work club," and it will open in Oak Cliff at 610 N. Tyler St., in the space most previously occupied by Boxwood Hospitality (Cliff House), and Good Shepherd Church, which is moving to Wax Space.

According to a statement, it'll open on August 25.

Switchyards was founded in 2019 by CEO Michael Tavani with a goal of creating “a place in your neighborhood purpose-built to sit with your laptop, grab a coffee, and get some good work done.” There are currently 29 locations including a dozen around Atlanta, plus locations across the southeast. There's also a location in Austin, which opened in mid-June.

They describe themselves as a combination of a coffee shop, college library, and boutique hotel lobby, located in residential neighborhoods. Unlike some other co-working concepts that are in business areas requiring a commute, Switchyards strives to be within 10 minutes of its members' homes.

Each club features a bustling coffee shop look and feel, with quiet areas for focused work, and bookable conference rooms and phone booths for meetings.

Notably, it’s open 24/7, and has free coffee with a cost — $100 a month — that's more like a gym membership. You're given a key and can enter whenever you want. Rather than renting offices, it's a place to go to for a few hours of focused work around others. And members get access to every Switchyards location.

They have some groundrules that include not moving the furniture, no eating full meals (they say the smells and the mess create a negative experience for everyone else in the club), no work stations, and no calls, meetings, speakerphone, or zooms in public spaces.

Memberships are generally limited and supposedly sell out quickly.

They just opened a location in Austin in mid-June; Switchyards Creative Director Brandon Hinman said “It’s almost like a Ritz-Carlton and a dive bar had a baby. It does have that luxe feel, it does feel generous, it does feel dialed in, but it also has a little bit of ‘Cheers’ to it, a little bit of that neighborhood pub to it, and that’s the balance we’re trying to hit.”

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