Police seek sleight-of-hand Walmart thieves

EVESHAM, N.J. - May 23, 2012

Surveillance video from the store in Evesham shows the suspects tilting their heads and hiding their faces with hat brims as they pass the eye-level security camera, as if they know exactly where it is.

"They walk in, their heads are down, they know exactly where not to look. At no time did they give a clear look at the cameras," said Sgt. Joseph Friel of Evesham Twp. Police.

The women go shopping and then head to the checkout. Two are side by side.

The third is further back, apparently to keep other customers in line from seeing what's going on.

The first woman pays for the items they're checking out. She then asks the cashier to change some large bills.

As the cashier sorts the money, the woman tells her she's doing it wrong, reaches over and grabs a stack of large bills from the cash drawer.

Through sleight of hand, she makes off with $400.

In the video, she can be seen handling the bills with her right hand but the left hand quickly skims and folds a wad of bills from the top of the stack.

She then passes it to the hand of her accomplice. The cashier, meanwhile, thinks she still has the entire stack.

"She doesn't report it, she doesn't know. She doesn't report it until a later investigation when a cash register comes up short and they go back and look at the video," said Sgt. Friel.

Police say these same three have pulled off the same scam at other Walmarts in Camden and Gloucester Counties. They are even wearing the same clothes each time.

Police say they talk rapidly in broken English and, by the time they're done, the cashiers' heads are spinning.

"She has three people at once talking, communicating and she's definitely frazzled," said Sgt. Friel.

Evesham Township police want to hear from you if you think you've seen these women.

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