Reward Offered For Tips In Brazen Meijer Purse Snatching
WATERFORD (WWJ) - She was caught on camera ripping off a 90-year-old woman while she picked out some produce.
Police and Crime Stoppers are looking for help from the public to track down 49-year-old Deborah Lynn Simmons who they say snatched an elderly Pontiac resident's purse.
Simmons is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and around 210 lbs. Police say she has a warrant out for her arrest for absconding parole, a criminal history that dates back to 1985.
According to police, the theft occurred at around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Meijer on Highland and Pontiac Lake roads in Waterford Township.
Security footage shows Simmons looking at the cart while the victim has her back turned, as if she's contemplating whether or not she has the guts to pull off the crime. Video from another camera shows Simmons walking away, pushing the victims cart and removing the items from the victim's purse.
Police said the purse, eventually found by a store employee a few aisles from where it had disappeared, was unzipped. Missing were two bank envelopes stuffed with $1,200 cash, along with the victim's wallet containing several credit cards.
Anyone with information who has information on Simmons' whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP, or Waterford police at 248-618-7550. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for the tip that leads to an arrest in this case.
