A man who pretended to be interested in joining two Stafford, Va., churches stole the wallets of women who provided information to him, authorities say. They released surveillance images of the suspect Tuesday.
The first incident happened Thursday at Mount Ararat Baptist Church on Garrisonville Road.
The Stafford County Sheriff's Office says a man visited the church’s office and spoke with a minister about the church. She later realized her wallet was missing.
"We've already forgiven him, we don't hold any malace in hearts toward him," Mount Ararat Pastor Greg Poss said. "We don't know what he's going through. We don't know his situation. If he had come to us, said, 'Hey I'm in a tight place,' we would have for sure helped him."
Then, on Sunday, authorities say the same man visited nearby Rock Hill Baptist Church on Van Horn Road.
He told a woman there that he'd recently moved to the area and was interested in attending the church, Fredericksburg.com first reported.
The woman gave him information about the church, and then saw him again in the parking lot, where they spoke once more. Later on, another church member found the woman’s checkbook in the hallway, which led her to discover that her wallet was missing, News4’s Kristin Wright reports.
In both cases, the man left in a brown vehicle, authorities said.
"I would recommend anybody who brings a purse [anywhere] finds a safe place for it," Bill Kennedy with Stafford Sheriff's Office said.
The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office says the images it released were taken of the suspect during the first incident. Anyone with information in the case is asked to call 540-658-4400.
