Police are looking for at least three women they say were caught on camera stealing purses from customers at New Jersey stores.
The first alleged robbery happened on Aug. 20 at a Foodtown grocery store in Cedar Grove where police say a younger woman snatched a customer’s purse, then joined an older woman pushing a toddler in a grocery cart before fleeing.
The women then used the credit cards they found in the stolen purse to go on a shopping spree, according to police.
The next day, one of the women allegedly struck again. Police say the same young woman was caught on camera taking another purse from a shopping cart, but another customer was able to grab the purse from her as she was running out of the store.
At the same time, another woman walked out of the store with a shopping cart full of items she didn’t pay for, police said. They believe the accomplice in this robbery is different from the older woman in the first robbery.
Cedar Grove resident Karen Loma is always on guard when she’s shopping.
“I always keep my pocket book on my shoulder and I always try to keep it close to my body,” she said.
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Former Foodtown employee Ellen Morgan says leaving a purse in a shopping cart can be tempting, but dangerous.
“It happens in an instant,” she said.
Police are looking for the women seen in the surveillance video above. Anyone with information is asked to call Cedar Grove Detective Michael Tower at 973-239-4100 or Paramus Detective Dmitriy Mazur at (201) 262-3400 ext. 1419.
