A juvenile male and a 21-year-old woman were arrested for purse snatching on Bloomington’s westside, according to the Bloomington Police Department.
A 17-year-old juvenile male approached a 67-year-old woman at Aldi on Liberty Drive around 4:34 p.m. on December 5, 2022, and asked her what kind of pants he should buy for his mother. The woman thought the question was suspicious when the male then walked away. It was then she noticed her wallet was missing.
The victim immediately began canceling credit cards, but the thieves already began making purchases at the nearby Walmart totaling $319.93, 459.03, and 157.57.
Police were able to review surveillance footage from Aldi and see the woman’s wallet being taken by a woman who then left the business.
Later the suspects were seen again at Walmart, and the police were alerted. A 17-year-old juvenile and a 21-year-old woman from Bedford were taken into custody.
In another purse snatching incident, a woman said she was putting her groceries in her vehicle on December 4, 2022, around 8:56 p.m. at the Kroger at 500 South Liberty Drive, when she felt someone tugging at her purse before it was stripped from her hands. She chased the suspects, a male, and female, who got into a waiting vehicle and fled the scene.
Around midnight, the victim was alerted that a person named Raven Russell, had requested 450 dollars from her Venmo account. The name of the requester is the 21-year-old Bedford woman who was also arrested in connection with the purse snatching crime at Aldi.
Police are investigating several other purse-snatching incidents.
