This browser does not support the Video element.
SARASOTA, Fla. - A career criminal from Chile has been arrested for pick-pocketing and credit card fraud after the Sarasota Police Department says he and two other suspects targeted a mother who was caring for her newborn.
On December 26, surveillance video showed Margarita Maldonado, 52, and two other people at a business on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota.
Police say that the three suspects carefully picked a table near the victim and waited until she stepped away to take her wallet from her purse.
Investigators were able to share the surveillance video with the Bradenton Police Department and officers there reported a similar theft that same day involving the same three suspects.
Posts on Facebook also showed similar suspects in Boca Raton stealing another wallet. Those suspects were later seen trying to use stolen credit cards at an Apple Store.
What they're saying:
John Lake, the Manager of the Sarasota Police Department Real Time Operations Center, says he believes that these three suspects were working together.
"You can tell by the techniques being used and how in sync these three suspects are working together. In one case, you see the woman trying to cover her hand with a scarf as she sneaks her hand in the purse while the others serve as lookouts," said John Lake, manager of the Sarasota Police Department Real Time Operations Center.
READ: Teen sentenced in deadly crash following 2022 police chase from Tampa to Plant City
Maldonado was eventually arrested on January 2 during a traffic stop in Osceola County, and that's when officers found two clothing items that connected the suspect to the theft in Sarasota.
Investigators say they initially thought it was a misdemeanor petit theft, but they later discovered that the value of the stolen wallet and the attempted credit card transactions could result in up to four felony charges.
The backstory:
Maldonado's criminal history includes fraudulent use of identification, credit cards, grand theft and money laundering in multiple states across the U.S.
Detectives have not identified the other two suspects.
What you can do:
Anyone with any information about this case is being asked to call the Sarasota Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at 941-263-6070.
You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers of Sarasota County at 941-366-TIPS (8477).
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Sarasota Police Department.