St. Jude Patient's Family Robbed Outside Graceland on Christmas Day

Eleven-year-old Dustyn Ates and his family were visiting Graceland when a Grinch stole their Christmas joy. Photo courtesy Shannon MacKenzie.

FAST FACTS:

13-year-old Dustyn Ates was just diagnosed with leukemia.
 After getting out of intensive care, he wanted to visit Graceland.
 A man stole a purse out of the family car while Dustyn and his brother were in the back seat.


(Memphis, TN 12/26/11) A family whose 13-year-old son is undergoing treatment for leukemia was robbed outside Graceland on Christmas Day.

Dustyn Ates was diagnosed with leukemia on Dec. 15 and flown from his home near Shreveport, LA, to Memphis, to be treated at St. Jude.

“We thought he had the stomach flu. Had no idea. He was the picture of health. And the next thing you know, it was a whirlwind. We were all just here,” said Shannon MacKenzie, his mother.

Since being released from intensive care, the family decided to leave the hospital and do something in Memphis.

“He said, ‘Mom, I just want to get out. I want to go to Graceland,” she said.
The family pulled up to the gates of Graceland, not knowing it was closed on Christmas Day. MacKenzie got out of the car to talk to the security guard, to see when would be best to come back for a visit.

After a while, MacKenzie’s husband went to check on her, telling their two sons he’d be right back.

Dustyn and his brother, Dakota MacKenzie, were in the back seat of their car, when they saw a strange man approach.

“All of a sudden this person came up from behind our car and leaned up against the door that my brother was sitting right beside. He leaned against the door, and then he popped the door open,” said Dakota.

Dakota described a man in dark blue jeans and a black football jacket with tan sleeves, standing by the propped door for a couple of minutes.

“I stuck in a corner and I just started shaking,” he said.

Dustyn yelled, and the two tried to call their mother, but were too nervous to dial correctly.

Dakota said the man finally “swung [the door] open, grabbed her purse, turned around, looked through the window and just laughed at us.”

The man had taken their mother’s purse, containing a Droid phone, cash, prescription medication, Dustyn’s St. Jude information, credit cards, and EBT card.

After police were called to the scene, someone located the Droid phone at a nearby Citgo gas station. MacKenzie said that a couple of her cards were also used.

“How could some low-life do this? With my son being a St. Jude patient, how can you look that child in his face, on Christmas Day, and take everything from him?” she said.

Memphis police said that Graceland does have surveillance video of the suspect, but that it was not made available yet. Graceland representatives did not wish to comment on this story.
Shannon MacKenzie hopes to see the suspect arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent.

“We will face our fears and get through this, because we’re a strong family, and love keeps us together. And you won’t ever get that. You might have took everything else I had,” she said.

WREG