The man is turned to the side as he searches through a purse that is behind him and is unzipped. Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler says the suspect snagged the woman's credit card on Thursday, August 20, and handed it over to a woman.
"He has the particular skill set of reaching into the purse and removing the items and in this instance it's a female ID or credit card, so he has a female who goes in and presents it for merchandise," said Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler
Sheriff Gahler says the card was used within an hour and swiped multiple times in the Abingdon area. All this and the victim had no idea what happened.
"All you do is put the hook on the table," said Valerie Willey, who is hooked on her purse hook.
Willey says it allows her to hang the straps right in front of her when she's in public.
"My purse goes underneath the table with this hook and that's a great way not to make yourself vulnerable," said Willey.
Sheriff Gahler says we shouldn't blame just the backs of chairs. They've also had multiple reports of theft with women dropping their purse in a shopping cart and leaving it unzipped.
There are reports from Panera and Kohl's too.
But it is this brazen case, with clear surveillance video now released to the public, that detectives want the public to see to help track down the suspects.
You are asked to call Harford Crime Solvers with any information of the suspects: 1-888-540-8477.
