Man Stole Elderly Woman's Purse, Used Charge Cards at Shop & Shop

Police are searching for the man who stole an 80-year-old woman's purse inside a Watertown supermarket on Wednesday morning, then tried to use her charge cards at a nearby bank.

According to police, a man approached the elderly woman while she was getting a cart inside the Stop & Shop supermarket on Straits Turnpike around 10 a.m. Wednesday.

He grabbed her purse, knocking her to the ground, and drove off in a newer-model black Nissan Altima or Maxima, police said. The purse contained money, personal documents and charge cards.

Police said a bank located at Chase Avenue and Thomaston Avenue in Waterbury contacted them 15 minutes later to report that the women's cards had been used in several locations until they were declined.

Officers searched the area of the declined transaction and found the woman's purse, which had been hidden, police said.

The suspect also tried to use the woman's checks at the Stop & Shop store on Reidville Drive in Waterbury, according to police.

Police are still searching for the suspect and getaway car. The victim was shaken up but not injured.

He's described as a white man with a brown goatee. Police believe he's 25-35 years old and said he was wearing a Detroit Tigers baseball cap marked with the letter "D."

He was wearing a black T-shirt with flames and a design printed on the front, along with blue-and-white plaid shorts and sneakers, police said.

Anyone with information on the robbery is urged to call Watertown police at 860-945-5200 or Crimestoppers at 860-945-9940. Calls will remain confidential.

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