Suspect Sought in Purse Theft from Irmo Office

The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department seeks the public’s help in identifying a man who stole a woman’s purse from a commercial building near Irmo on Dec. 7 and charging more than $2,300 on credit cards.

Detectives say between 12 and 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 7, a man is suspected of stealing a woman’s purse from an office in a commercial building on Laurelhurst Avenue and later used credit cards stolen from the purse to buy items at convenience stores, pharmacies and other businesses.

Two surveillance camera photographs were released Tuesday that show a man using one of the stolen credit cards to buy items at a business, Lexington County Sheriff James R. Metts said in a release.

The cards were used to conduct at least 10 transactions, including transactions at a Belk’s department store for $935, $320 at a Sears store and two transactions in the amount of $566 each at a Kmart store.

Anyone with information concerning the theft of the purse or the identity of the man who used credit cards stolen from the purse are asked to call the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department at 803-785-8230 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. Citizens also can provide information anonymously by accessing the Crime Tip link on the Sheriff’s Department web site.