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Purse thefts rising locally |
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Tuesday, 14 April 2009 |
Benton police said they have had numerous reports in the past two weeks of purses being stolen out of vehicles parked in public parking lots.
Some women said their vehicle windows were broken while the women were inside a local business. Other victims told police that they were near their vehicles when the purses were stolen, said Sgt. Kevin Russell, public information officer.
One Benton woman told police that she was pumping gas at the Murphy USA convenience store near the Walmart Supercenter when her purse was stolen. She said that after finished filling the tank, she reached into the passenger floorboard for her purse and it was gone.
The victim said she did not notice anyone around the vehicle while she was pumping gas, Russell said.
The police report said security video showed a green Ford pickup pull beside the woman’s passenger door. A person was seen getting out of the truck for few seconds before getting back into the vehicle and driving off.
The following day, on April 8, a woman told police her purse was stolen from her vehicle when she went inside the Family Exxon convenience store on Military Road to pre-pay for gas. The women left the vehicle unlocked, police said.
Another victim told police she was not inside her place of work very long when she was notified that someone had smashed her vehicle window. She told police that her purse was taken from the front seat.
Numerous men and women in the past two weeks reported valuables stolen out of their vehicles, Russell said. In most cases, he said people reported leaving the vehicles unlocked.
Russell said people should not leave valuables inside their vehicles, and especially not in plain view. He also said people should “keep an eye” on purses and other valuables when inside businesses.
“[Women] need to keep their purses with them at all times and not out of their site,” Russell said. “Anyone, not just women, needs to pay attention to their surroundings, too.”
Some of the officers reported lifting fingerprints and Russell said the police department is pursuing each.
“Our department has been working these cases diligently,” he said. “We are following leads. At this point, we don’t know if any of these cases are connected, but there is a possibility.”
To report any information, call the police department at 776-5948 or 315-TIPS.
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