Serial shoplifters in black Mercedes hit Gig Harbor stores

A set of shoplifters in a black Mercedes appears to be making a regular commute across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Gig Harbor police say a woman and a man hit Sally Beauty at 5500 Olympic Dr. on Sept. 1, bringing several expensive items to the checkstand, then scooping them up as the clerk was working the register and leaving without paying. The stolen items included hair clippers and cosmetics.

The suspects and their pricey car matched the description of those in a similar shoplifting case Aug. 21.

In that incident, a man and a woman filled two shopping carts with $750 worth of Nike shoes and athletic clothing at Kohl’s Department Store, 4929 Point Fosdick Drive and then left without paying, police reported.

The couple left in a black Mercedes with the same license number used in the Sally Beauty case, according to police reports.

The pair and their car also match the description of suspects in a similar incident at a Kohl’s store in Lacey, officers said. The car is registered to a 35-year-old Tacoma woman and was traced to a Tacoma address.

According to police reports, there appear to be three people involved, two women and a man, with the women switching roles.

The investigation is ongoing.

Burglary at day care center

A door left open overnight at Kindercare, 3811 Grandview St., allowed thieves to take three laptops and a 32-inch television, police reported. The operator of the day care center found the side emergency exit ajar when she arrived for work Sept. 2, according to police. She told officers the door may not have been properly shut the night before. Officers said the burglar missed many iPads, which were sitting in plain sight.

Purse snatch from bench

A 72-year-old woman sitting on a roadside bench in Gig Harbor North had her purse snatched by a man who fled in a waiting pickup truck, police reported. The woman said she regularly sits on the bench across from a tire store in the 5300 block of 33rd Avenue. She said the man reached over the back of the bench, grabbed the purse and got into the passenger side of a waiting pickup truck “with a loud exhaust.” The purse contained credit cards, but only $1 in cash.

Car prowl nets credit cards, military ID

A couple who had parked their car near the old ferry terminal at 2799 Harborview Dr. returned from their walk about 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 1 to find a wallet missing, police said. The car had been left unlocked and the windows were rolled down. The wallet contained credit cards and a military ID. As officers were taking the report, they learned the cards had already been used in University Place.