Police Say: Watch Out For These Con Artists Ripping-Off Elderly

Texarkana Texas Police Search For Four Men
A Team Of Con Artists/Thieves
Ripping Off Elderly in Stores

Texarkana Police are searching for these men who were caught on camera ripping little old ladies in a grocery store here in Texarkana recently. Have you seen them?

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These four men, pictured below, are working together running a scheme at a local grocery store targeting the elderly, and Texarkana Texas Police want to know who they are and where they can find them.

The incidents described below happened at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Summerhill Road on October 5, 2023:

One or two of them approached their elderly victim in the grocery store aisle and distracted her with a series of questions about something they said they were thinking about buying. While the victim was trying to answer the questions and had her back turned from her shopping cart, one of the other ones quickly went through the victim's purse that she'd left in the cart and took out her wallet. The other guys casually stood guard at the ends of the aisle to warn the others if someone else was coming.

The report states that within minutes of the theft, the elderly victim's debit cards were used to purchase $2,500 in gift cards at two other area stores. The victim received a phone call from her bank about possible suspicious transactions on her way home, that's when she realized what happened and called 911 to report it.

During the ensuing investigation, TTPD Detective Jarrod Dean obtained the surveillance video from inside the store and found these guys had grabbed the victim's wallet while she had her back turned. The Detective also saw that they had pulled the same "distract and swipe" deal on at least one other elderly female customer not long before they did it to the victim in his case. However, that victim never reported a crime to the police, they said it's possible that the thieves were not able to get anything of value from her purse and she never knew what happened.

TTPD most wanted - Elderly Scammers 1

Texarkana Texas Police remind us to not put a purse or wallet in the buggy at the store. Yes, it is a handy place to put items while you shop, however, as this case demonstrates, it only takes a couple of seconds of you being distracted to give a criminal more than enough time to steal the stuff inside it.

If you know who these... men are or if you remember having any interaction with them at the Summerhill Neighborhood Market or any other location around town, please call Detective Dean at 903-798-3116.

You can also call Texarkana-area Crime Stoppers at 903-793-STOP.

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Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker