By Kelsey Durham
The two women being sought by police for allegedly using a young child to help them steal from a Bayside business last week may also have hit another store the same day.
Police said the two suspects were shopping at Karma Boutique, at 38-27 Bell Blvd., May 7 with a small girl, whom they instructed to remove a wallet from a bag on a counter behind a cash register. The child then handed the wallet to one of the women, who put it in her pants before leaving the store, authorities said.
The NYPD was investigating whether the suspects were also involved in a similar theft at Worthy Pause Thrift and Gift Shop, at 40-08 Corporal Kennedy St. in Bayside, later that day in which a pair of purses were stolen from two of the store’s volunteers, according to NBC New York.
Margaret Papacostas, the owner of Karma, said she had never seen the women before they entered the clothing store that day and said they were acting as if they were shopping, despite not buying anything before leaving with the stolen wallet, which belonged to one of the store’s employees.
“They were putting on an act,” Papacostas said. “Picking up items, trying them on, showing each other.”
Papacostas said the women and child were in the store for more than half an hour, having entered the shop while it was fairly busy and waiting until it cleared out before swiping the wallet. She said both women casually left separately after the theft was complete.
Papacostas said $200 in cash was taken along with one credit card.
“One of them left with the child first and I guess that was the signal for the other one to go, too,” she said.
It was not until about 20 minutes later, when her business partner went to pay for the lunch she had just ordered that she noticed her wallet was missing and immediately checked the security cameras.
Papacostas said Karma, which has been open for 11 years, has never had anything like this happen at the store before.
Anyone with information about the alleged thefts is asked to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hot line at 1-800-577-TIPS or by logging on to nypdcrimestoppers.com. Tips may also be submitted by texting 274637 and entering TIP577. All calls are confidential.
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
