Police Log: Wallet Stolen Out of Car, Counterfeit Bills Used at Target

The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.

Jan. 16, 1 p.m.: A Riverside Street resident moved her husband’s vehicle onto the street at 8:30 a.m. and left it running and unlocked. She came back out a half hour later and her wallet was missing out of the purse she left on the front passenger seat. It contained credit cards and her driver’s license.

Jan. 16, 3:30 p.m.: A man came in and asked for a pair of sneakers and shoebox to put them in. Then he took the sneakers out and put a $300 pair of shoes inside. The man purchased the original shoes for $70 with a gift card and didn’t pay for the other pair. The suspect was described was wearing all black and was in a wheelchair.

Jan. 17: A Bradshaw Street resident reported being the victim of a scam. She was in a long-term relationship with a person in California. In December, she agreed to loan money to the person, and sent four payments of $2,552 using CashApp. The person said the money would be paid back but has not done so.

Jan 18, 6:48 p.m.: A woman wearing a black jacket and black face mask came into a store and took a bottle of Devotion fragrance into a bag and left without paying. It was worth $122.

Jan. 21, 1:30 p.m.: A man came into Best Buy and took two Canon digital cameras off the shelf, and put them into a white Target shopping bag. The man exited the mall. They were worth a total of $1,000.

Jan. 22, at 6:54 p.m.: A man and two women came into Target and made several purchases using cash. They made eight separate purchases, for nearly $4,000 and got $367 in change. The store discovered that they were using counterfeit $100 bills. They got away with more than $4,000 in merchandise and cash.

Jan. 22, 12 p.m.: On Jan. 21, at 12 p.m. a woman came into Best Buy, brought up nearly $2,700 in merchandise and then gave the clerk $3,000 in cash. The clerk counted the cash, and then the woman took the money back. When the clerk was not looking, the woman removed about half the money, and gave back $1,300. The clerk placed the cash back into the register and gave $23 in change. In total, Best Buy lost $1,722 in merchandise and change. Store security recognized the woman from similar incidents at other Best Buy stores in the area.

Jan. 23, 3:15 p.m.: A woman entered the Nike store with a red duffle bag that appeared to be empty. Then she took a mesh shopping bag, and went around the store placing items into the duffle bag and the mesh bag. Employees approached her multiple times to ask if she needed assistance, but she refused help. She then walked out of the store without paying for about $700 in merchandise, and was seen heading toward the bus stop.