Police: Surveillance Video Reveals Purse Thief

After a customer told Whole Foods Market and police that the purse she'd inadvertently left behind was missing, a look at a surveillance camera revealed it had been taken by a 44-year-old maintenance worker at the store, police said.

Darien police gave this account of the incident, investigation and arrest:

On Dec. 16, a woman had lunch at Whole Foods Market, 150 Ledge Rd., but left her pocketbook behind, hanging on a chair. After she left the store, she realized her mistake and returned, but the purse was gone and no one had turned it in to store management.

The pocketbook and its contents, which included a credit card, was valued at $2,300.

Looking at the store's surveillance camera tapes, managers saw the theft and were able to identify the thief as Robert Simmons, 44, of 27 Harold Ave., Greenwich, a maintenance employee.

Police then applied for a warrant for Simmons' arrest and notified him once the warrant was approved. Simmons was charged with third-degree larceny and theft of a credit card.

Police arrested him on Thursday when he turned himself in. He was released on a written promise to appear Feb. 20 in state Superior Court in Stamford.