Fullerton : Gang Stealing Purses of Workers Investigated

Police are investigating a gang of men and women who use diversion tactics at local businesses to steal the purses of female employees.

Four such incidents have been reported this month, with total losses of almost $8,000, said Fullerton Detective Jim Keffer. All the victims have been Asian, and Keffer believes the gang members may be deliberately targeting Asian women.

“The gang’s method of operation is to come into the business as a group, and while some members of the group distract the clerks, the others locate and take the clerk’s purse,” Keffer said.

Keffer said the gang works in groups of three to six, and its members are apparently all Latino. In one incident a woman in the group was carrying a baby.

The businesses hit so far include a restaurant, a fish market and two dress shops.