Indy woman charged with running multi-county pickpocket scheme targeting female shoppers

HAMILTON COUNTY, Ind. -- An accused thief is facing criminal charges in multiple counties for allegedly leading a pickpocket ring targeting female shoppers around central Indiana.




According to court records, 18-year-old Shanya Smith admitted she stole around 30 wallets from customers at various stores.

Smith allegedly told police she didn't act alone. The suspect confessed she taught other young girls how to commit to assist her in committing those crimes.




Standing in the candy aisle of a Wal-Mart on East 96th Street, a 62-year-old woman had her wallet stolen from a shopping cart in March.




Days later, in the juice aisle of the same store, an 85-year-old woman fell victim to the same crime. A third victim, an 84-year-old woman, also had her wallet stolen while shopping at the store.




Just across the street at a Meijer, a 76-year-old woman had her wallet and credit cards stolen in February.

Surveillance video in that case showed Smith leaving the store, followed by Smith being caught on camera allegedly using the victim's stolen credit cards to buy hundreds of dollars of merchandise at Castleton Square Mall.

Fishers police claim those thefts were part of a much larger scheme targeting older women.




Smith and other young women would allegedly team up to distract the victims, with one of them talking to the victims while the other grabbed their wallets.




Smith said she was only interested in stealing credit cards. She confessed she liked cards with a security chip and not ones that swiped.




"I think it's disgusting. There's no excuse for that," said Sgt. Angela Ellison with the Fishers Police Department.




Court records show the criminal case filed this week in Hamilton County marks the 8th time Smith has been charged with theft and fraud this year. The crimes spanned four counties, including Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks and Boone.




"So it's not working out for her and it's causing all kinds of stress," Ellison said.




Smith told police she was taught the scheme by her cousin's boyfriend, Devon Tibbs, who is currently accused of attempting to burglarize gun stores in Johnson County.




Since then, Smith admitted she was the ringleader of a group of juvenile girls who worked together to distract victims and steal their wallets.




"In her own admission, she was taught to do this. Now she's teaching others. But also in her own admission, she tells others not to do this," Ellison said.




Fishers police just hope the crime spree encourages shoppers to be alert and try not to be an easy target for thieves.




They encourage women to hold onto their purses and not to leave them unattended in the child seat of shopping carts. They also urge women to wear the purse across their chest to keep it from being stolen.




"We hear about these things when people travel. We just don't think it'll happen when we go to the store for a gallon of milk and that's when we are vulnerable, because our guard is down. I don't want people to walk around on pins and needles, but I do want them to be aware of their surroundings," Ellison said.




The suspect is currently in jail in Marion County on a $4,000 cash bond. If she is released, a warrant has also been issued for her arrest in Hamilton County.



via: https://fox59.com/news/indy-woman-charged-with-running-multi-county-pickpocket-scheme-targeting-female-shoppers/