Newport police search for man who stole woman’s wallet and charged $3,000 to her credit card

Newport Beach police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a man who stole a woman’s wallet from her purse in a restaurant and used her credit card to buy nearly $3,000 worth of electronics.

Police released surveillance footage Friday of the July 2 theft.

The video shows a man wearing a button-down flannel shirt and a black baseball-style cap walk into a restaurant on Bison Avenue with a sweatshirt draped over his arm. The man hung the sweatshirt over a chair and sat behind a woman whose purse was hanging off the back of her chair, police said.

“While everyone is distracted by the waiter, the thief uses the sweatshirt to cover his hand, then reaches inside the purse and steals the victim’s wallet,” authorities wrote in a caption for the video.

After the man left the restaurant, he used one of the woman’s credit cards to buy electronics, police said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Det. Brian Schlottach at (949) 644-3790.

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