Police: Thieves prowl Crocker Park; watch your wallet
WESTLAKE, Ohio (WJW) — It’s a crime of opportunity and it’s starting to happen all too often in Westlake.
Police Capt. Gerry Vogel said two men in white baseball caps have been hanging around Crocker Park for several months, hoping to steal people’s credit cards.
“Either they were distracted, looking at things in the store or someone came up to them, engaging them in opportunity to — and before they knew it, their wallet was missing,” he said.
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Vogel doesn’t want to scare folks out of shopping at Crocker.
He just wants people to be aware of their surroundings while there, especially when getting groceries.
“A lot of people put their purse in the cart as a convenience thing. Just make sure it’s secured and make sure you are aware of your surroundings,” said Vogel.
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Overall, Westlake police have reported at least four separate cases where folks had their possessions stolen from these two men.
Investigators haven’t seen any signs of them deciding to slow down their scheme. Also, they know what they are doing.
“They use them quickly. They try to use these cards quickly because once people know their credit card had been stolen, they shut it down pretty quickly,” said Vogel.
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