Days after surveillance photos were released showing a young woman stealing an older woman's purse from her supermarket shopping cart, a 28-year-old woman whose picture was featured in news stories throughout New Jersey was charged in the crime.
Crystal M. Leo of Brick was arrested Feb. 22 by Toms River police after surveillance photos and videos were released by Toms River police showing the purse snatching, which occurred last September in the township Shop Rite supermarket on Route 37 West. In the video, a woman with a shirt that says "Attitude Served Daily" takes a purse from a 65-year-old woman's shopping cart.
"We received numerous tips from the public and thank them for their efforts in identifying Ms. Leo," said police spokesman Ralph Stocco.
The video and still photographs were widely disseminated and viewed through several online news media and social network outlets, receiving 170,000 views on the police department's Facebook page alone, said Stocco.
In the wake of the arrest, police are continuing their investigation to determine if there are any links with other recent thefts of this nature that have occurred in local supermarkets.
At the time the video was released, Stocco said the investigation has led officers to believe that the woman continues to prey on elderly females, and may be involved in more recent thefts that have not been caught on camera.
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