Thursday, October 8, 2009

OT- just a reminder--watch your purse when you shop

Link KATU.com - Portland, Oregon Print this article Police: Man who rammed pregnant woman with cart still out there by Margy Lynch KATU News and KATU.com Staff Originally printed at Link CLACKAMAS, Ore. - Deputies are looking for a man witnesses say shoved a shopping cart into a pregnant woman's stomach after snatching her purse. It happened at a grocery store in Clackamas. Deputies said it doesn't appear the woman or her unborn baby were seriously hurt. KATU has obtained the surveillance video of the incident. It shows the woman standing in line, with her Coach-brand in the cart, and a man reaching over to grab it. Just outside the video's viewpoint, deputies said the man then shoved the cart into the woman's stomach. He then steps back into the video before taking off out of the Safeway store at 12032 S.E. Sunnyside Road. But he didn't get far. At least one employee - and other witnesses - chased after him. They caught up, he dropped the purse (with everything still inside) and he took off. That was three weeks ago, on Sept. 15. However, police have yet to find the man in the video. As such, they are asking for your help. The pregnant woman in this case believes the man is 25 to 30 years old. She said she heard him speak in a language other than English, Spanish or Russian. Anyone who recognizes the man in the screenshot above is asked to contact the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office tip hotline at (503) 723-4949 or online. Minding your p's Shoppers said they try to be aware but are sometimes unsuccessful. "I usually have my purse in my cart, unzipped," said Bessie McFarland, a Safeway shopper. "But my husband says, 'Zip it up, keep it on your arm, don't leave the shopping cart.'" That's good advice, given that this isn't the first - or likely the last - wallet or purse snatching as a result of shoppers without their eye on their purse. (See our coverage of a wallet-snatching in a Safeway store in Woodburn in late July.) "Some people aren't in their right mind," said Carrie Eaton, another Safeway shopper. "You have got to protect yourself - and those around you - and don't be easy bait." Eaton holds her purse through her fingers, with not much rein. She said a man tried to grab the purse off her shoulder once and she was able to hang onto it; he gave up and ran off. But if she is shopping and needs both hands, she said she puts the purse over her head and one shoulder. She never leaves it in her cart. Deputies said these purse snatchings are often a crime of opportunity: Thieves usually will go after the contents of your bag only if your bag is open or easy to grab. ----------------------------------------


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