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3rd Dallas business reports being targeted by wallet thief
Earlier this week, FOX 4 reported on two Dallas dance studios that were targeted by wallet thieves. Now, we are learning an employee at a Dallas garden shop had her wallet stolen.
DALLAS - Earlier this week, FOX 4 reported on two Dallas dance studios that were targeted by wallet thieves.
Now, we are learning an employee at a Dallas garden shop had her wallet stolen.
All three incidents were caught on camera.
"We don’t even refer to them as customers. We call them our gardeners," said Dawna Schmidt.
At Redenta’s Garden Shop, off Skillman Street, it’s family.
So when Schmidt, who owns the shop, spotted a customer in the back on Saturday, April 22, she approached her as she would for any customer.
"I just approached her and said, ‘Are you finding everything okay,’" Schmidt recalled. "And she said, ‘Yeah, I’m good, I’m just looking.’"
But when Schmidt walked away, the camera video showed that the woman took a few steps into the shop’s office and swiped an employee’s wallet.
Minutes later, one of Schmidt’s employees received a fraud notification from her bank that someone was attempting to use her credit cards at a nearby neighborhood Walmart.
One charge was for $523. Another charge was for $206.
The employee checked her purse and her wallet was missing. The wallet also had a couple hundred dollars in cash.
"Apparently, they came in the side door and stayed in the back of the store, went in the office, stole the wallet, and went back out the side door," Schmidt said.
Schmidt checked her surveillance cameras and said she caught the woman in the act.
Turns out, the employee’s family realized the woman looked familiar after watching a report on FOX 4 this week.
Thieves nab Oak Lawn dance instructor's wallet, surveillance video captures their scheme
The studio's owner says others have reached out to her, claiming they experienced similar incidents.
"She watched it and recognized her immediately as being the same woman we had on camera in the exact same clothing," Schmidt said.
Also on April 22, the owner of GS Ballroom Center of Dance in Oak Lawn came face to face with a wallet thief.
A woman wearing the exact same clothing - a white shirt, brown pants, white sandals, and a black mask - was caught on surveillance video stealing Shorena Gachechiladze’s wallet after claiming she was interested in dance lessons.
She too got a fraud alert about a purchase at Walmart for $505.
"I’m like, how did I do this? I trusted. I was so welcoming and nice. Look at what they did to me," Gachechiladze said previously.
Another owner of Dallas dance studio reports having wallet stolen
Dallas police are investigating whether two wallet thefts, both at dance studios, may be connected.
Donna Murray, owner of Apex Dance and Performing Arts Studio off Mockingbird, told FOX 4 she too fell victim to two female thieves on April 12.
"One of the parents saw it and was like, ‘Oh my gosh Donna, these are the same girls that came to your studio,’" Murray said.
Surveillance video from the East Dallas studio shows the thieves rifling through a fanny pack and then taking Murray’s wallet.
Next thing she knew, she got a fraud alert for $505 at Walmart.
Dallas police are now investigating if all three crimes are connected. Police are only saying this is an ongoing investigation.
At Redenta’s, Schmidt said that mistake will never happen again because the door will stay closed.
She now hopes other businesses will also be on high alert as well.
"To know someone is seeking out small business for their vulnerabilities is disappointing and frustrating," Schmidt said.