Surveillance video capturing a woman taking something out of a shopper’s open purse at a grocery store in Roseville prompted police to issue a warning Wednesday as they searched for the alleged “purse pirate.”
The video, posted on the Roseville Police Department’s Facebook page, begins with two women perusing the produce section of a local supermarket.
As one of the woman examines vegetables, the other walks over to the woman’s cart, puts her hand in the shopper’s purse and appears to take her wallet, the footage shows.
“This is why it’s so important to keep your purse closed and under your control at all times,” the Police Department wrote in its Facebook post. “Never leave it out of your sight on the back of your chair in a restaurant or in your grocery cart, even for a few seconds.”
The woman in the Aug. 26 incident is suspected in several other similar thefts at Roseville grocery stores, according to police.
Her identity is known, but police declined to release her name.
Anyone who recognizes the woman and has information on her whereabouts is urged to email Roseville police Detective Fernandez at bfernandez@roseville.ca.us.
