Trying to be a Good Samaritan, a bystander handed over the wrong wallet to a fleeing shoplifter in a Langley City store last month.
The incident took place on the afternoon of April 8 in McFrugal’s at the Langley Mall, said Cpl. Holly Largy, spokesperson for the Langley RCMP.
A man had allegedly been stuffing shoplifted items into a backpack, as well as putting on a pair of stolen shoes, when store staff noticed and confronted him.
The shoplifter then allegedly tried to punch an employee.
“There was a scuffle,” Largy said.
In the struggle, an employee who was trying to stop the shoplifter dropped their wallet on the floor.
A bystander picked up the wallet, assumed it belonged to the alleged shoplifter, and handed it to him.
The shoplifter then ran off with the wallet.
The suspect’s backpack tore in the scuffle, spilling out most of the stolen items taken from the store, but the thief managed to get away with a pair of shoes and the wallet.
Credit cards from the wallet were then used for purchases at various locations, Largy said.
The shoplifter is described as Caucasian, 6’2” tall, about 30 to 40 years old.
He was wearing a black hoodie, a camouflage hat, and was last seen fleeing north on a blue bicycle.
Anyone with information on the incident can call the Langley RCMP at 604-532-3200, or can leave an anonymous tip with CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or at solvecrime.ca.
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