A woman who was filling up at a gas station in West L.A. on Tuesday was completely unaware that only a few feet away a thief had crept up on the other side of her car and stolen her wallet in broad daylight.
The incident took place the Mobile gas station at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard.
Surveillance video from the store showed a man in a T-shirt and baseball cap sneaking around Sara Weinstein’s car as she is standing on the other side pumping gas.
The man then opens the door and gets inside the car, where he begins digging through Weinstein’s purse and wallet.
A few seconds later, the thief climbs back out of the car and closes the door before sneaking away.
“As soon as I got back in the car I tried to put my credit card back in the wallet and it wasn’t there,” Weinstein said.
A few minutes later, the Mobile station manager told Weinstein he had it all on video.
“I was shocked, I couldn’t believe the brazenness of these criminals to do the crime in the presence of the victim … right under my nose,” Weinstein said.
The video also showed a second man, who may have serving as a lookout, following the thief to a waiting vehicle, where a third person was sitting inside.
A $5,000 reward was being offered in the case.
Anyone with with information was asked to call police or the 1-800-HOT-TIPS line.