A Roosevelt man was arrested Monday and charged with stealing credit cards from women while they were shopping at supermarkets.
Suffolk County Police said Willie Vanderhall was arrested at the Stop & Shop in East Northport after a 70-year-old woman reported that her card had been stolen. After an investigation, police said that Vanderhall targeted a 76-year-old and an 84-year-old woman earlier in the day at the Stop & Shop lin Deer Park. The stolen credit cards were used to make purchases at different Best Buy locations in Suffolk County.
Vanderhall, 62, was charged with two counts of grand larceny 4th degree as a hate crime and petit larceny as a hate crime. He was taken to an area hospital for a medical emergency unrelated to his arrest.
He will be arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip at a later date.
The investigation is ongoing. Detectives are asking anyone with information to call Hate Crimes Detectives at 631-852-6323.