Toms River Target purse snatcher turns herself into police

The woman sought for allegedly stealing a purse, spending the money inside and taking off from the Target on Hooper Avenue April 28 has turned herself into Toms River Police today.

Her identity has not been released but police say she has been charged with one count of theft and will be appearing in court at a later date.

On the morning of the incident, an innocent shopper had gone into the store to look for her missing purse to find out it was gone and that's when she called police who began an investigation starting with reviewing video surveillance.

The woman who turned herself in today is accused of taking the purse left behind in a shopping cart in the Target parking lot and then entering the store with a young child after discarding the cart.

She was seen on video going through the purse inside the store, taking out about $40.00 in cash and then hid the pocketbook in a shoe box.

Here is a statement made today by Toms River Police Spokesman Ralph Stocco:

"The woman responsible has voluntarily identified herself and surrendered to us as we had requested she do.

99% of the time we have to utilize extensive measures to track down suspects we want to speak to.

Sometimes mistakes are made in life that are out of character for how a person normally conducts themselves.

When a person is determined to make amends they should be afforded that opportunity.

That does not excuse the illegal act but it does go a long way for us here at TRPD.

Thank you to the media outlets and everyone who shared our post and contacted us with tips.

These tips would have eventually led us to her but it is refreshing to know that some people do the right thing to fix their mistakes."

The public is reminded that criminal charges are accusations only.  Every criminal defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

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