A 93-year-old man was attacked by a gang of three pickpockets in the parking lot of a Portland Costco and robbed of his wallet.
Clear surveillance footage shows the trio sneaking up on the elderly man as he pushes a cart back to his car, unaware that the criminals are following him.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, a gang member reaches out with his left hand and manages to grab the wallet from the buyer’s back pocket.
The gang seems to be experts at picking up wallets, as the old man can’t detect anything going on behind him. His wallet disappears in an instant.
A 93-year-old man was attacked by three pickpockets at a Portland Costco
Clear surveillance footage shows the trio sneaking up on him and stealing his wallet from his back pocket.
For a moment, the man seems to sense that something has happened and turns around only to see the three men looking to cross the street.
At one point, he even feels the back of his pants, perhaps sensing that something is missing.
Before moving out of view of the surveillance camera, the man can be seen frantically searching around for something he misplaced.
Once the gang took the victim’s wallet, they used his credit cards to purchase $1,500 in gift cards.
The elderly victim barely felt anything when his wallet was taken from his back pocket.
After his wallet is taken, the man appears confused as he feels the back of his pants, perhaps sensing something is missing.
The trio reach the parking lot and move towards another objective.
Surveillance footage lasting more than five minutes shows the trio targeting several other unsuspecting members of the public while they were shopping.
The gang is seen searching for more victims as they search the parking lot.
Further investigation by the Portland Police Bureau revealed that the suspects had committed similar crimes in the Seattle area.
Detective Jordan Zaitz said Costco staff “were able to…demonstrate that it was the same group of people that had been going back and forth along the I-5 corridor to different Costco’s doing similar things.”
Zaitz said the group may also use other methods to steal personal information.
“I received an email this morning from Winco and it appears that the same group… is coming in and watching customers use their debit cards… memorizing PIN numbers and then stealing their wallets in the parking lot.” she said to KATU.
These petty thefts will be the target of newly elected District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, who promises the city a tough approach on crime.
Progressive Portland District Attorney Mike Schmidt, who is the Multnomah County prosecutor, conceded victory to Vasquez after his policies were blamed for ruining the city.
Schmidt was elected in May 2020, just before the death of George Floyd and the riots that pulverized cities across the country.
He promised not to prosecute rioters unless there was evidence of “deliberate damage to property, theft or threat of force”, and of 550 cases referred by the police only 47 went to trial.
Portland District Attorney Mike Schmidt Pledged ‘Equity-Centered’ Policies After His 2020 Election
Challenger Nathan Vasquez unseated him after promising a tough-on-crime approach.
Drug deaths in Portland increased from 280 in 2019 to 628 in just the first six months of last year.
Homelessness increased 65 percent to more than 6,300 between 2015 and 2023
Oregon became the first state to decriminalize possession of all hard drugs in 2020, and Schmidt rushed to implement the measure several months before it took effect statewide.
But fatal opioid overdoses rose from 280 in 2019 to 628 in just the first six months of last year, when nearly 800 homeless encampments and open-air drug markets sprang up downtown.
More than 2,600 businesses had fled the city center by September 2022, as shoppers avoided downtown areas and retail thefts began to increase.
“What I hear when I knock on doors is, ‘Hey, I consider myself very liberal, but this is out of step: They’re not serving us well,'” Vásquez told Politico.
‘People definitely want public safety. This does not mean that people are completely abandoning the idea of criminal justice reform. They just want it to be delivered in a pragmatic and practical way.
“It is quite clear that I am the only candidate in this race who is consistently in office prosecuting serious cases, advocating for victims, and providing the current and dedicated leadership that my fellow prosecutors need day in and day out.”