COPS CORNER

Suspect steals woman's wallet by pretending to give her money she had 'dropped'

This week in Cops Corner...


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Feb. 23

Bait and switch

2:39 p.m. — 1400 block of West Granada Boulevard, Ormond Beach

Larceny. A 63-year-old woman's wallet was stolen in the parking lot of a local grocery store when a man approached her and claimed she had just dropped a $20 bill.

According to a police incident report, the man approached her while she was loading her groceries into her car. The woman told him that she was certain she hadn't dropped any money, but the man was persistent. In the end, she accepted the $20 and told police the man continued to speak to her as she got into her car. 

Once home, she realized her wallet was gone. The woman told police she believed the man intentionally distracted her to access her purse. She showed the reporting officer the $20 bill the man gave her; it was counterfeit.

The woman wished to press charges should police find the suspect.

March 7

Hurdling straight to jail

6:23 p.m. — 200 block of Vining Court, Ormond Beach

Loitering or prowling. Two residents were playing golf at a local country club when they spotted a man jump a home's gate in their neighborhood. Knowing their neighbors were not home, they yelled at the man, causing him to jump a second gate on the other side of the home, according to a police report.

The neighbors soon returned and showed police surveillance footage of the incident, and police attempted to find him. They were unsuccessful.

However, later that day, a resident of a nearby street reported seeing a suspicious man sleeping by her air conditioning unit. Officers renewed their search and spoke with a witness who spotted the man running on the golf course. They eventually found the man, a 52-year-old transient, attempting to enter a closed travel agency office. Once he saw the officers, the man fled.

After he tripped on some mulch and bushes, according to the report, police were able to detain him. When asked why he had been jumping gates, the man said he was trying to "get to the main road." As to why he was sleeping by the AC unit? The man said he was tired and wanted to lay down. He claimed he ran away from the officers because of "police and gangs working together in another state," according to the report.

He was taken to jail. 

 

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