Women Shopping at Ralphs on Western Say They Are ‘On Guard’
A person suspected of stealing a wallet from a woman's purse at the Ralphs grocery store on Western Ave. on Sept. 17. (photo: LAPD Harbor Division)
Female customers at a Ralphs supermarket in San Pedro have been guard after two men were caught on video roaming the store in search of female shoppers who left their wallets inside their pursues.
One shopper, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had “major apprehension” even entering the store, but said her family of five needed groceries.
“As I was making my shopping list, I was nervous,” she said. “I just can’t imagine if that had happened to me — my purse will be zipped, and tied to the cart from this point forward.”
The incident the woman was speaking of took place on Sept. 17 at the Ralphs store located at 1050 N. Western Ave.
Police are working diligently to try to identify the two thieves, who they say worked as a team.
“One of the suspects distracts the victim by starting a conversation or asking questions,” said Los Angeles police Detective Don Eldridge. “Then, the other suspect attempts to grab the victims wallet right out of their purse.”
Eldridge said there were three total attempts made on Sept. 17, but the suspects were only successful in obtaining one wallet.
Bethany Jackson said up until she heard the news she always did the grocery shopping for her family of six alone. Now, she said, she won’t step foot in the supermarket without her husband, Mark.
“It’s unsafe,” Mark Jackson said. “Until they catch these two guys, I will be pushing the cart.”
Bethany Jackson said it has changed how she shops.
“I used to stop at the market every other day,” she said. “Now I am planning meals for the week, and doing my shopping once a week — it’s a pain, but I feel safer with my husband pushing the cart.”
The victim in the Sept. 17 incident was a 78-year-old Rancho Palos Verdes woman who said she didn’t know her wallet was missing until she was at the checkout counter.
“I reached into my purse for my wallet and it was gone,” she said. “I panicked, and the manager told me to wait and not to go anywhere. I didn’t know where she was went, but later found out she went to check the camera.”
Eldridge said the surveillance footage came from a camera above the fruit section.
The woman told police she had stopped at the store to purchase a few items, when she noticed the cantaloupe were ripe, she stopped to pick one out.
It was at this point, Eldridge said, that a young man wearing an untucked plaid shirt approached the woman and asked her for advice as to how to pick a melon that was ripe enough to eat right away.
The video shows the woman pointing out a couple melons, before he picked one, and she told him to “enjoy.”
“I didn’t know he had anyone with him,” she said.
But as the two were discussing which melon to pick, the video footage shows another man, in a white shirt, pushing a cart full of groceries up to the woman’s cart. When he was next to the woman’s cart he reached into her purse and took her $200 Gucci wallet.
Eldridge said the wallet contained no cash, but had her driver’s license and social security card, along with several credit cards.
The thieves made charges of $32 and $125 at a Chevron station at Pacific Coast Highway and Western Avenue in Harbor City, and then tried unsuccessfully to make an online purchase of $1,000 of electronics.
The surveillance footage shows, in addition to the successful attempt by the suspects, two failed attempts in other parts of the supermarket. In both attempts, the man in plaid walked up to a woman to distract her, but the man in white never had a clear opportunity to reach for their wallets.
Sarah Muller, who frequents Ralphs several times a week, said women need to be on guard, and make sure their wallets and purses are secure.
“It’s best to buckle your purse into the child seat, and of course, make sure if it can zip, it is,” she said. “When I heard the news, I called all my girlfriends to make sure they knew — we need to look out for one another, and protect ourselves.”
Eldridge said they are asking for the communities help in identifying the suspects, and said if anyone has any information they can call him at 310-726-7853.
