Woman's Purse Stolen From Car While She Visited The Grave Of Her Son
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A woman who had her purse stolen at a Southwest Miami-Dade cemetery is speaking out.
She is motivated to warn others about thieves who could be preying on those who are grieving.
Last month, Melina and her husband were visiting the grave of their 23-year-old son who was shot to death in March.
Their truck was parked nearby, with the doors unlocked.
While they were focused on paying their respects, a thief seized an opportunity.
"When we got to the truck, my husband said 'where's your purse?' and I was hoping he was kidding me," Melina said. "But when I looked, there was no purse."
To her dismay, her favorite purse had been swiped. Inside it were her credit and debit cards, which the thief promptly put to use.
"They started using the credit cards and the debit card right away," she said.
Police say surveillance video captured someone ringing up nine hundred dollars worth of fraudulent charges at two stores.
When she confronted the cemetery about the burglary, she was stunned by its response.
"They told me they do not have camera surveillance and that this was a common occurrence and they cannot be responsible for people's belongings," Melina said.
It made her wonder how many others had been victimized the same way.
"Apparently these people know what they're doing and they prey on unsuspecting people and it'll happen to them and I'm trying to prevent that."
The cemetery where this incident took place is on Southwest 120th Street and 117th Avenue and the person who did this is still out there.
Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.