Suffolk County Police are investigating a series of deception larcenies targeting women in retail parking lots, the department said Thursday.
Police gave this account:
A woman in the parking lot of Costco in Commack about 3:25 p.m. Wednesday. was approached by a man asking for directions. When the woman entered her vehicle, she realized her wallet was missing from the passenger seat. The woman went back into Costco to see if someone had returned her wallet and saw the man accompanied by another male at the entrance of the store. They fled when they saw her.
An investigation has determined nine similar deception larcenies during which a victim was approached by an individual asking for directions while a second person stole credit cards.
The thefts occurred in the following parking lots:
- Costco, 125 Beacon Dr., Holbrook, on July 30 at 4 p.m.
- Costco, 3000 Route 25, Nesconset, on July 30 at 2:33 p.m.
- Bed, Bath & Beyond, 3083 Jericho Turnpike, East Northport, on July 21 at 1:30 p.m.
- Costco, 10 Garet Place, Commack, on July 21 at 2:38 p.m.
- Costco, 625 Broadhollow Road, Melville, July 21 at 12:45 p.m.
- Costco, 625 Broadhollow Road, Melville, July 16 at 2:15 p.m.
- Costco, 10 Garet Place, Commack, on July 16 at 2:30 p.m.
- Costco, 10 Garet Place, Commack, on July 14 at 4:25 p.m.
- Costco, 625 Broadhollow Road, Melville, on July 14 at 2:30 p.m.
In some cases, there were two female thief and a male perpetrator. One female has been described as possibly pregnant. Another female was described as tall, thin, and nicely dressed. One of the males was described as dark-skinned, between 5 feet 7 inches tall and 5 feet 8 inches tall and of Indian or Eastern European descent.
Photos of the suspects can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1v-W6D9oebOWWEgZmqzE4ODHFVdkbIiP1?usp=sharing
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.
