Police have released a surveillance video and are seeking help in finding a serial purse snatcher who’s struck several times on the Lower East Side in the past few months. The incidents have happened at Katz’s Deli and Clinton Street Baking Company.
Katz’s, where three of the four crimes have occurred, gave the cops the video you see above. It was recorded September 30th, at 3:30 p.m. The other incidents at Katz’s happened May 1st and May 28th. The suspect hit Clinton Street Baking Company June 17th.
The suspect, a black woman between the ages of 40-50, grabs purses that are slung over the back of chairs. DeDe Lahman, the owner of Clinton Street, told the New York Times there was another theft on September 20th that police did not mention in a news release put out yesterday. “Both times, she came in, cased the place, went to the bathroom and when she came out, grabbed a purse,” Lahman said. “She’s smart.”
The New York Post said the woman asked for a table at Clinton Street Baking Company under the name “Jones.” “She waits outside a while to see if the place is busy, then comes inside and pretends to be a customer,” Gladys Bido, a waitress, said.
Anyone with info should call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
