A Quebec woman has been arrested in connection with a series of distraction thefts in Waterloo Region and a number of other Ontario cities.
Seniors were often the target. The suspect would distract a female shopper and then steal her wallet from her purse, taking money and credit cards. The cards would be used shortly thereafter.
The shopper would often not realize what had happened until they were preparing the check out at the cashier.
Durham Region police say Venera Vasile, 39, was arrested at her home in Laval, Que. on Tuesday. She made a court appearance in Oshawa, Ont. on Wednesday.
Similar crimes were reported in Durham Region, the GTA, Belleville, Trenton, Port Hope and Cobourg, along with the six incidents in Waterloo Region.
Waterloo Regional Police Staff Sgt. Dave Mathes says "She'll be facing a bail hearing tomorrow in Durham, and we anticipate our charges will be filed at that time as well with the other police services that are able to put their cases together."
One Waterloo Region victim who did not want to be identified told CTV News she was distracted when the suspect asked for help to find barbecue sauce.
"‘Oh, you see over there, over there.' She tried keeping me busy...take time, and I wanted to help her," she says.
She didn't realize her wallet was gone until it was too late, and $1,000 in charges had already been racked up on her MasterCard.
Waterloo Region police and other Ontario and Quebec police forces shared information in order to get to the bottom of the case.
Mathes says "Our detectives are in Durham right now working with the Durham detectives and we're expected this female will be charged for the six offences that we have in our region, which will result in multiple criminal charges."
The charges include theft and use of a stolen credit card.
