Police: Thief hires homeless for scheme

AVON, Ind. (WISH) - Avon police say a thief and his accomplices are hiring homeless people to do their dirty work.

The thieves are breaking into people’s cars to steal purses and wallets. They then use the stolen credit cards to purchase merchandise at area stores.

Police say surveillance video shows a man and a woman leaving area Target stores with items that were purchased using stolen credit cards.

Now officers say the suspects are avoiding store cameras by paying homeless people to do their shopping for them.

“The suspect, I'm sure, is taking full advantage of their situation needing money,” said Avon Assistant Police Chief Bill Weems. “It's fairly ingenious. By using homeless people it's harder (for us) to locate them and you don't get as much cooperation because there is quite a bit of distrust between homeless and police.”

Police say the same thieves may be responsible for as many as seven cases of smash-and-grab thefts from vehicles in several central Indiana communities.

Six of the seven cases occurred in school parking lots between 2 and 7 p.m. The other case was at a dog park. Police say the cards are used within 20 and 30 minutes of the thefts, mainly to purchase iPads from Walmart, Target and GameStop. The cards are also used to buy gas. Police say the suspect’s vehicle is a white Dodge Avenger.

Avon police have tracked down and interviewed one homeless person who was paid to shop. Police expect to make at least one arrest in this case next week.