Lower Saucon Township Police are asking for the public’s help with identifying a man who is believed to have stolen a purse from a car parked outside a township gym before using a credit card that was in it to buy sneakers at a South Bethlehem clothing store.
Lower Saucon Township Police released this store surveillance photo of a credit card fraud/theft suspect. The photo was taken outside Villa clothing store, 1 W. 4th St., Bethlehem.
In a post published on the department’s Crimewatch website Wednesday, police said the theft occurred outside Maxx Fitness in the Saucon Square shopping center on Rt. 378, where it was reported at 1:52 p.m. Tuesday.
“The victim reported an unknown actor(s) smashed the passenger window of her vehicle and removed a purse,” police said, adding that the purse contained a credit card, a debit card and her driver’s license.
The card was later fraudulently used several miles away at Villa clothing store, 1 W. Fourth St., Bethlehem, to purchase two pairs of Nike Airmax and one pair of green Air Jordan sneakers with a total value of $459.96, police said.
Police say the man in this surveillance photo taken outside Villa clothing store, 1 W. 4th St., Bethlehem, is a suspect in the theft of a purse from outside a township gym, and the subsquent fraudulent use of a credit card that was in it.
Police released store surveillance photos of the man who used the card to make the fraudulent purchase.
Anyone with information related to the theft from the vehicle or who can identify the man in the surveillance photos is asked to contact the Lower Saucon Township Police Department at 610-317-6110 or to submit an anonymous tip through their Crimewatch page. Please reference incident #20181009M7093.
The gym where the theft occurred has been the seen of several similar incidents in the past.
In January 2018, police said two purses were stolen from cars parked outside Maxx Fitness.
Police typically advise anyone who leaves a car unattended not to leave any valuables inside it in plain sight.
