Metro police Thursday morning arrested an alleged serial thief suspected of stealing wallets and credit cards from female shoppers on multiple occasions.
Patricia L. Hancock, 47, allegedly stole from women shopping at Charlotte Pike Wal-Mart and Target stores on Dec. 2, 16 and Jan. 5. Police arrested her at 5:45 a.m. at her Elmhurst Avenue home.
Police charged Hancock with four counts of theft and two counts of fraudulent credit card use. She is being held on $45,000 bond. Police expect to make additional charges.
In the Wal-Mart cases, police said surveillance video shows Hancock using stolen credit cards to buy $265 in gift cards from a Mapco convenience store.
Hancock is under investigation in similar theft cases.
Police have asked citizens who had their wallets or personal property stolen while shopping in stores in the area since Dec. 1, but who didn’t notify police, to call West Precinct Investigations at 862-7385.
According to police, Hancock has multiple convictions for identity theft, theft and forgery, and received a five-year sentence for identity theft in 2007.