Crime & Safety

East Cobb Pickpocket Suspect Held

Marietta man arrested after Wednesday incident at East Piedmont Publix store.

Cobb County Police have arrested a man suspected of taking a wallet from an East Cobb supermarket on Wednesday.

Ricky Waller, 31, of Marietta, has been charged with theft by taking and credit card transaction fraud, Cobb Police spokesman Officer Mike Bowman said. Waller is being held at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.

According to a release issued Thursday by the Cobb Police Precinct 4 Public Email Notification System (PENS) program, a wallet was reported stolen from a purse left in a shopping cart at the Publix store at around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.

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Police arriving on the scene received a detailed description of the suspect, according to the PENS release. A short time later, the suspect, identified by police as Waller, entered the Target store at 3040 Shallowford Road, near Sandy Plains Road, in possession of the victim's credit cards. He was taken into custody without incident. 

Earlier Wednesday, Cobb police issued a public alert about several pickpocket incidents, including the taking of wallet from a purse at a Northeast Cobb Publix on Sandy Plains Road. The suspect then used credit cards from that wallet at other businesses, according to Bowman. 

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Multiple additional charges are pending for other incidents that took place in Precincts 1, 4, and 5, police said Thursday.

The PENS statement also included this reminder: 

"Although this suspect is in custody, please do not let your guard down. Ladies, when you are shopping, it is best to have a purse with a long strap that can be worn across the body and always keep it zipped."


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