INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The woman whose purse was snatched off a window ledge over the weekend at an Oakland County Kroger said she won’t press charges after the culprit apologized and returned her money.
The woman responsible has been banned from that particular store, however.
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Surveillance cameras at an Oakland County Kroger captured the moment when an 80-year-old shopper’s purse was stolen around 3:45 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 24) at the Kroger store on Sashabaw Road in Independence Township.
Money taken from purse
Deputies said the 80-year-old Chicago woman was staying with her daughter in Springfield Township. She finished shopping and was waiting for her daughter to meet her at the front of the store.
While she waited in the vestibule with her groceries, the woman placed her purse on the window ledge, police said. She forgot to grab the purse when she took the groceries out to the car, according to officials.
The woman realized minutes later that she had forgotten her purse, so her daughter went inside to retrieve it, authorities said. That’s when she realized it was gone.
Surveillance video shows a 63-year-old Independence Township woman walking into the store, spotting the purse and looking around to see if anyone was watching. She walked over, put the purse around her shoulder and continued inside, the video shows.
The 80-year-old’s daughter told the store manager about the theft, and the manager recalled seeing the 63-year-old woman walk into the bathroom with a purse matching the description, police said.
Surveillance video from another hallway shows the same woman taking the purse inside the women’s bathroom. Minutes later, she exited the bathroom without the purse, video footage shows.
The purse was found in the corner of that bathroom, and $100 was missing, according to authorities.
No charges
On Wednesday, Oakland County deputies announced the 80-year-old woman will not be pressing charges. She said the 63-year-old woman provided a written apology and returned the stolen $100.
Authorities said the 63-year-old woman called deputies shortly after the surveillance video was released. Several other tips were called in, officials said.
“The victim is grateful to the sheriff’s office for resolving this matter,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “She didn’t want to press charges and simply wanted to move on after the culprit apologized and returned the stolen money. While I am saddened this individual won’t face full responsibility for her intentional act, I appreciate the public’s attention, which I am sure is why the perpetrator decided to turn herself in.”
The 63-year-old woman met with a detective Wednesday and admitted to taking the purse, but she initially claimed she left it at customer service, according to authorities. She later conceded taking the money, police said.
She told police she has a prior retail fraud conviction in 2019 in Troy and was also arrested for retail fraud 25 years ago.
Officials from the Sashabaw Road Kroger said the 63-year-old is permanently banned from shopping there.
