LOCAL : Alleged Restroom Bandit Caught
A Santa Ana woman who allegedly installed hooks in mall restrooms and then stole purses from them has been arrested on 40 felony counts of burglary, police said today.
Claudia Denise Clark, 33, was arrested at the Orange Mall on Thursday after a monthlong investigation by Buena Park police, Officer Rich McMillen said. She is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail at the Orange County Women’s Jail in Santa Ana.
McMillen said investigators believe Clark is responsible for the thefts of 40 purses from malls in Buena Park, Brea, Orange and Anaheim in the last month.
Clark was arrested about 2:30 p.m. shortly after detectives watched her steal a purse from a restroom at the Orange Mall, McMillen said.
“She would steal her victim’s purse while it was hanging on the restroom stall door as the victim was using the facility,” McMillen said. “If there were no hooks present on the doors, she would install them.”
McMillen said police seized a screwdriver and “various other evidence” from Clark’s purse that linked her to the operation.
“We’ve had purses taken from restrooms stalls, but nothing to this extent,” McMillen said.
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