Wheelchair-Bound Suspect Charged With Stealing Purses, Wallets
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A wheelchair-bound man was in police custody Saturday morning, accused of stealing wallets and purses from guests at high-end Manhattan restaurants and hotels.
As 1010 WINS' Eileen Lehpamer reported, Matias Moreno-Boza of Perth Amboy, N.J., has been charged with four counts of grand larceny in connection with the thefts, which happened between Aug. 19 and Sept. 6, police said.
Wheelchair-Bound Suspect Charged With Stealing Purses, Wallets
Police said in the earliest incident, at 8:45 p.m. Aug. 19, the suspect pretended to be a guest at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, 1535 Broadway, and stole an unattended bag from a 42-year-old woman. The bag contained a wallet, an iPad, a necklace and an unspecified amount of money, police said.
The thief allegedly struck again at 11:30 p.m. Aug. 30 inside Nobu restaurant, 40 W. 57th St. A 34-year-old woman noticed her bag containing credit cards and money missing after hanging it up underneath the bar, police said.
In a third incident, at 9:45 p.m. Sept. 3, a 40-year-old woman left her purse behind as she got up to dance at Havana Central Restaurant, 151 W. 46th St., police said. When she returned, her purse – containing a wallet, credit cards and money – was missing, police said.
And at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 6, a 35-year-old woman at Txikito, 240 Ninth Ave., found her pocketbook missing after placing it behind her on a chair.
After one theft, police said Moreno-Boza allegedly used one of the stolen credit cards to get back to New Jersey.
In each incident, Moreno-Boza would simply roll away in his wheelchair before anyone noticed the thefts, police said.
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