Despite surveillance, wallet thief remains at-large
By Jill Meninger
Staff Reporter

After five wallets were stolen on campus from Aug. 15 to Aug. 23, TCU Detective Kelly Ham said police have obtained video of a suspect but he has yet to be apprehended. Ham said he targeted the suspect by calling all the owners’ credit card companies and finding out where the stolen cards had been used since the thefts occurred. He said he then went to all of those locations and viewed surveillance videos.

“Because of the pattern of the thefts and the video we’ve seen, they indicate that this particular suspect is involved in all the thefts,” Ham said.

Ham said the suspect was on tape going into various convenience stores and gas stations using or attempting to use stolen credit cards. According to police reports in the five cases, the suspect made 12 successful stolen credit card purchases.

Ham said he has a good image of the suspect from an Eckerd surveillance tape but there has not been an arrest. He said the suspect made a small purchase and then came back five minutes later and made a larger purchase.

According to police reports, two of the wallets had money in them. Ham said no one witnessed the thefts.

The police reports stated that in every incident the property was left alone for a short amount of time. Ham said to avoid thefts like these, never leave anything unattended.

“It only takes five seconds,” Ham said.

According to a TCU theft report summary, from Nov. 20, 2001 to Sept. 11, 2002, there were 114 reported thefts totaling a loss of $69,803. From Aug. 1 to Sept. 11, a total of 12 thefts were reported totaling $2,639.

Ham said reported thefts typically come in bunches because the one thief is usually involved.

Ham said the most common items stolen from inside the buildings are wallets and purses since they contain credit cards and cash.

Terrell Carter, a junior biology major, said she leaves her personal belongings alone all the time.

“You don’t think about the consequences,” Carter said.

Carter said she would call the police if she recognized the suspect because it would benefit the entire campus by making it a safer place.

After having her book stolen last year from the library, Lacy Merritt said she does not feel safe leaving her personal items unattended. Merritt, a junior entrepreneurial management major, said she would call the police if she recognized the suspect.

“I have had my wallet stolen before off campus and I know how hard it is,” Merritt said.

Ham said readers can call his office at (817) 257-6637 if they have any information about the suspect.