An opportunist snatched a woman’s purse from the back of her chair while she was eating in a Vanderbilt Avenue restaurant on Oct. 11, cops said.
The 36-year-old victim reported that she was dining in the high-end pizza place between Willoughby and DeKalb avenues at 3:30 pm. She hung her handbag from the back of her chair before she began eating, and when she turned to retrieve it, the bag was gone, according to a police report. The purse contained debit and credit cards and a cell phone, the report says. The thief used one of the cards at a gas station on Myrtle Avenue between Bushwick Avenue and Troutman Street to buy $36.72 worth of gas, police said.
A camera in the restaurant captured a video of the suspect, and police are asking for help identifying him. He was wearing a dark blue, long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers, and glasses, the authorities said.
The NYPD asks those with information about the incident to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577–8477, go to www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or text-message tips to 274637 and enter “TIP577”.
