Cops warn shoppers to beware of grocery bandits
By Josh Morgan
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ATLANTA (WGCL) — A series of thefts from shoppers at local grocery stores have law enforcement officials warning shoppers to take new precautions when at the grocery store.
Two men are now connected to multiple thefts in Athens, Lawrenceville and Augusta. And police believe they are making their way around the state.
On June 29, Athens-Clarke County Police said the two men followed a woman around a grocery store. They say when the woman stepped away from her cart, one of the men stole her wallet.
The men proceeded to go to a nearby store and purchase more than $4,000 in gift cards, using the woman’s cards.
Police believe it was the same two men who stole a wallet from a grocery shopper in Lawrenceville earlier that day, using similar tactics.
“It’s important for shoppers to be aware of their surroundings,” said ACCPD Detective Nathaniel Franco in a Facebook post. “These subjects were patient and waited until the victim turned her back to her grocery cart and left her purse open and unattended.”
A day later, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office reported the same two men, used the same tactics, to steal a wallet from a woman at a Wal-Mart in Augusta.
The men then went to a nearby Sam’s Club and spent more than $8,000 on her American Express card.
Athens-Clarke County Police tell CBS46 that they believe these two will continue to try and find victims to steal from and they want to alert law enforcement and shoppers, around the state, to who they are and what to look out for.
The men were seen leaving Augusta in a black minivan, possibly a Honda Odyssey.
If anyone has any information about the identity of the men or knows of their involvement in similar crimes in other jurisdictions, please contact Detective Franco with the Athens-Clark County Police Department at 762-400-7100 or Nathaniel.Franco@accgov.com.
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