Thieves Team Up To Steal Shopper's Wallet In Kroger: Police

JOHNS CREEK, GA — The Johns Creek Police Department is investigating a case of a woman whose wallet was stolen while shopping earlier this week at a grocery store. According to an incident report released by the agency, officers met with the woman on Dec. 12 at Kroger at 8465 Holcomb Bridge Road.

The woman told police she was approaching the check-out line to pay for her items when she realized her wallet was not in her purse, according to the report. She told police she became suspicious when a woman approached her earlier, asked her to look at a food label and read it for her.

"She believes this could have been a tactic used to distract her from her bag or seem friendly," the officer wrote in the incident report.

The responding officer met with a manager who was able to provide access to surveillance cameras in the store. On the recording, a woman and a man sporting a hooded sweatshirt who look to be following the victim in the dairy aisle. At one point on tape, the officer observed the victim "walk a long distance from her shopping cart, which contained her purse on the upper section."

"When she gets far away from the purse, the female suspect makes an immediate path to the victim's purse and takes the wallet out," the report adds. "She then hands the wallet to the male suspect she was with."

The pair separate, and the female suspect approaches the victim and begins to chat up the woman to avoid suspicion, the report goes on to state.

After leaving the store, the victim said she went home and checked the accounts belonging to the stolen credit cards. She noticed her Chase Visa credit card was used for a purchase exceeding $500 and attempts were made to use her American Express, Bank of America MasterCard, Nordstrom Visa card and Lowe's credit cards. Those companies were made aware of the theft.

Roswell police are also investigating a similar incident reported at a Kroger store in its jurisdiction. Spokesperson Lisa Holland said detectives are working to determine if the cases are connected.

Anyone with information about the Johns Creek incident is asked to contact its tip line at 678-474-1610 or email JCPDTipLine@JohnsCreekGA.gov.

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