Clearwater woman records suspected wallet thief at Walmart

A Clearwater man accidentally dropped his wallet inside a Walmart. A few moments later, police say another shopper scooped it and claimed it was theirs.

When the victim's fiance realized what was going on, she started recording on her cell phone. Clearwater police hope someone recognizes that person's face.

April 1, Danny McManis and his fiancee Emma Gans were at Walmart off U.S. 19 and Coachman Road in Clearwater running errands. Unfortunately, it ended up being mostly running.

"I don't know what was going through his head at that time but what he did was really wrong," McManis said. "I was shopping, I dropped my wallet, I went outside to smoke a cigarette, I came back in and that's when I noticed my wallet was gone."

Gans spotted it at the exact time as the other customer who snatched it up.

"I said what are you doing? Can I please have my fiance's wallet? And he said, I don't know what you're talking about, it's mine," she said.

That's when Gans whipped out her cell phone. 

"I'm recording you," she says in the video. "Give me my fiance's wallet."

They proceeded from the aisles to the front of the store. "Can somebody help me? He's trying to steal my fiance's wallet," Gans said.

She begged and pleaded but none of it seemed to faze the speed walking suspect.

"I've got a 2-year-old kid I've got to think about and he's got all my money," she said in the video.

Eventually, outside, the wallet hit the pavement. All the cash was gone. And, pretty soon, so was the person who allegedly took it.

"I wanted to chase after him, tackle him like a football player and beat the crap out of him but I didn't," McManis said.

It wasn't a lot that was taken - about $50. But, McManis said it was money he was putting toward a medical procedure to treat his young daughter's ear infections.

"She's my whole world. She's my world," he said.

The couple hopes the close-ups in the video lead to a swift return and their eventual refund.

"Just turn yourself in," Gans said. "There's no harm that can come from it except you going to jail which is what you deserve."

If you recognize the person in the video, call 727-562-4242.