I stopped a theft

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Yesterday I went to lunch at Luby’s (cafeteria). I got my tray and went looking for a place to sit. I observed a booth with several purses in it but no people. I looked around, couldn’t ID the owners, and thought “I bet someone could make off with one of these pretty easily.” Then I sat down to eat and play a game on my cell phone. Eventually I observed several older ladies sitting several feet away at a different table, chatting and eating and totally ignoring their purses. Okay.

Eventually as I was sitting there, I noticed a man walk by my table wandering toward the back of the building. He was talking on his phone, and the rest rooms are back that way, but I watched him walk by. Then continued with my meal. A bit later, I noticed him walking past me going the same direction, kind of moseying along. I looked up and thought to myself, “Let’s see what he does”. Sure enough, as he passes the table with the purses, he glances around, then bobs over and grabs one, puts it to the outside of his leg to obscure it, and starts for the door. I jumped up and yelled at him to get his attention. He turned around and said “Oh no you don’t.” He looked at me and said something like, “Oh is this yours?” He handed it to me and then took off.

I wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I let him go and didn’t try to restrain him or anything, but I put the purse back at the booth, then turned to the ladies who apparently had completely missed this exchange that occurred within feet of them. I told them I just stopped a man from taking one of the purses. They gave me surprised looks, and said “Oh, I guess we weren’t paying any attention.” :smack: And then proceeded to be oblivious again. :confused:

I went and sat back down, noticed another couple next to my table, and the lady there got up and went and got her purse from the booth. It was her purse he had grabbed.
I decided to say something to the manager, so I asked the server to get him for me (and had to let her know it wasn’t about her or anything), and then informed him about the attempted theft. He asked what the guy looked like, so I described him: big, black, wearing a blue jumpsuit like a work outfit. He said he remembered the guy and would check his security cameras for a better description. I returned and finished my meal.

What really just makes me shake my head was not only the total naivety of the ladies for putting their purses off to the side and their obliviousness not only to the theft, but to my confronting the guy, but also their complete lack of concern even after it was demonstrated that their purses were at risk. Only one lady grabbed her purse back, and she was at a different table from this group. shakes head

Anyway, I feel good.

Apparently when I thought “I bet someone could take one of these pretty easily,” he thought “I bet I could take one of these pretty easily.” sigh

2

Good for you for not minding your own business. People can really be oblivious. I hope the woman who’s purse it was at least thanked you. I never leave my purse at the table alone when I’m at a restaurant. A few weeks ago I saw a young man take his girlfriend’s purse into the bathroom with him while she was at the buffet and I thought that was really sweet and thoughtful of him.

3

I’m not sure she realized it was her purse taken. I think she just heard me talking about it and changed her mind.

4

Good job, although it sort of sounds like the people who benefited from your public-spiritedness might have learned a useful lesson if you’d let the guy get away with it.

5

Oh, okay. Who the hell leaves a bunch of purses at one table while they sit at another, anyway?

6

That is so very, very weird. Not just a “purse booth” that a group of women commandeers for their personal use on top of another table where they’re eating, but then yet another woman appears to see this “purse booth” and adds hers to the pile. “Oh, look, group purse storage! I’ll just put my purse there, too!” I guess I’m just too citified to even imagine doing that, plus I’m kind of attached to my stuff, like my money and credit cards and cell phone, and keys…

Good on you, OP, for stopping that guy. Not sure I would have felt all that bad for the dummy who left her purse there, though.

7

You just interfered with a top-secret dead drop procedure between two spy agencies. When you get home tonight, turn on each light BEFORE you enter the room and scope it out carefully. Someone will be hiding there, ready to throw you into a van and bring you to a dark basement for an unpleasant interrogation involving a car battery. They think you are also a spy. Don’t worry, after breaking free from the shadowy kidnappers, you will find another young female secret agent who will help you escape, fall in love with you, and be rescued by you after an intense shootout (you do know how to shoot a gun, right?)

Good luck! When it’s all over, come back here and tell us all about your adventure.

8

You’re disturbed. I like it, a lot. :stuck_out_tongue:

9

That was good of you. A lot of people wouldn’t have confronted the guy.
Not too long ago at the grocery store, I stepped away from my buggy for just a second, to look at the apples. A woman came up to me (shorter than me. Absurd.) touched my arm and said, “Do you realize you just left your purse wide open for somebody to take?”
And I said, “I KNOW. I was just asking myself what in the heck did I do that for and that I better get back. Thanks for reminding me to think.”
I always set my purse in the “seat” at the front of the buggy. But now I keep my arm through the strap so I can’t absent-mindedly do that again.
Maybe at least one of the ladies learned a good lesson.
You done good.

10

Good job!

Sometimes I just wonder where people put their brains. I’m so scared of losing my purse I usually don’t even carry one!

11

Well done. It’s frustrating when you go to help and the beneficiaries don’t seem to acknowledge it. Last year I was walking down the street when three guys ran out of a phone shop with armfuls of Blackberries. Two of them made it, but the third got grabbed by a passerby and the next-door store’s security guard. They were pinning him down, but his legs were flailing and it looked like they might lose their grip. I was pissed at the way they’d blundered into old people and children, knocking them down, so I threw myself on this guy’s legs. We were holding him down while we waited ten minutes for the police, but he still managed to have one hand on his own Blackberry, deleting stuff like crazy. There was a guy from the phone shop standing there watching so I said “can you get that Blackberry off him - he’s deleting evidence”.

“No sorry mate, I can’t touch him, I’d get done for assault.” Pussy.

12

Good for you. I’m so glad you weren’t hurt in the process.

I see women leave their purses unattended in the shopping cart all the time. I try to watch mine like a hawk. Where I used to live, this is a prime time for parking lot, shopping cart thefts. Christmas Shopping and all. So, ladies watch your purses and packages.

13

Yes! These posts reminded me of a woman a few years ago at Target. I had noticed her with her purse in the child seat of her shopping cart. Didn’t think anything of it, really, see it all the time (though I never do it - I use a cross-body bag that is comfortable and unobtrusive and nearly never take it off even in restaurants). A few minutes later she was screaming for help from security because $600 was gone from her purse. Seriously, $600! Who leaves cash like that in her purse, unattended? Ye gads, lady, keep it in your bra or something!

She seemed to expect the guards to lock all the exits and search everybody or something. Sorry lady, your shit is loooong gone.

14

A coworker of mine had her purse snatched out of her hand while walking through a decently nice part of the city. The thief picked the wrong woman - she’d majored in vocal performance in college so when she screamed, the entire block heard it. A couple of random dudes tackled the thief and held him until the police showed up. She bought them beers, and they felt like heroes for the rest of the day.

So to all the people out there who will step up when minor crime is occurring, thank you!

15

Dammit, Arnold! It’s not that I miss the torture, but where’s my hot spy woman, huh? You promised me a hot spy woman!

16

Why is her being shorter than you absurd?

17

When I worked downtown, everyone locked their purses and laptops away since so much stuff “walked away” from offices all the time (in spite of being in locked, secure offices). When I worked outside of downtown, I couldn’t believe how cavalier people were with their purses and wallets - just leaving them on their desks as they wandered off to the washroom, or down the hall to talk to someone. Women would leave their purse open on their desk and not stay around to watch it - I can’t believe they didn’t have constant thefts there. I guess they haven’t had enough thefts yet, but sooner or later they will.

Good for you, Irishman. Nobody has the right to steal someone else’s property, but you don’t have to offer it up for them on a platter, either.