Gwinnett police warn of person or group of people stalking customers inside banks, robbing them

Gwinnett police are sending out a warning about a stalker following bank customers and stealing their cash.

Police said such incidents have happened several times in the past few weeks.

Police believe the person or group waits inside banks, watching for anyone who withdraws a large amount of cash.

They then follow them, and when the customer makes a stop in their vehicle, they smash the vehicle’s window and grab the money.

Billy Abrams is one of the few people to see the thief or at least one of them in action on May 21 outside Abrams’ Total Appearance store on Pleasant Hill.

“It happened so quick. It was a very quick encounter,” Abrams said.

Broken glass still litters the spot where police said the unidentified man broke out a truck window, stealing thousands of dollars that the victim had just withdrawn from a nearby bank.

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“I was coming out and I saw him inside the vehicle. In the center console. I immediately went to the suspect and confronted him and tried to chase him out of our lot,” Abrams said.

Gwinnett County police said the man drove to a nearby store.

Police gave Channel 2′s Tony Thomas a video that shows the man whipping into the parking lot, then walking through the store, out the back, and disappearing. He left the car behind.

“At this time, we don’t know if it’s one suspect or a series of suspects who are working together,” said Cpl. Hideshi Valle with the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Detectives said the man seen on video in two or three banks, follows in all eight cases that have been reported in the last two months across the county.

Police said thousands of dollars were stolen from customers’ cars.

“It appears it’s been going on for a while and it’s become a trend,” Valle said.

“At the end of the day, somebody like him just needs to be put away,” Abrams said.

Police urge people who withdraw a large amount of money from the bank to be aware of their surroundings — including of people who might be following them — and to go directly to wherever they can safely store or spend the money.

They urge people to not leave their money in their car, no matter how quick they think their errand might be.

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