Robin Hobbs is suspected of running the same scam at dozens of stores.
Posing as a shopper, she allegedly swiped wallets from store employees while they were distracted, sometimes by children she brought to the store, then used their credit cards to rack up purchases, police said
But the Texas woman, wanted in a string of thefts spanning four states and as many months, was finally captured Friday in Nashville, TN said Lt. Bruce Anderson.
Hobbs has been linked to crimes through out Tennessee, Anderson said.
The 29-year-old resident of Nashville, TN., got the attention of police when she allegedly took the wallets of three employees at three different stores in the Mall at Green Hills in December. One of the stolen credit cards was used at a Walgreens in Nashville, and detectives there used surveillance footage from the convenience store and mall shops to identify the suspect, Anderson said.
In the footage, detectives saw Hobbs, another woman and two young children at each of the stores, Anderson said. It is not clear whether Hobbs is the children's mother, or whether the other woman is being sought.
Hobbs again surfaced in Franklin, TN in February, when she grabbed cash and a purse from a nail salon while employees were distracted painting the kids' nails, Anderson said. She used those credit cards at a few stores in Franklin, where she bought more than $2,000 worth of merchandise.
Police were able to get better surveillance footage with each crime, Anderson said, but the big break came when they noticed her vehicle had a TEXAS state license plates from a Black Toyota Corolla registered to a Robert Hobbs.
Nashville detectives James Barker and Mark Johnson sent copies of the surveillance photos to the Texas State Bureau of Probabtion, where officers recognized her as Hobbs.
Police called on Hobbs to surrender for a theft in Franklin, and she turned herself in Friday, Anderson said. They then informed her she was also being arrested on warrants out of Houston, Texas.
Police charged Hobbs with theft over $1,500, theft by deception, credit card theft and credit card fraud. She will likely face similar charges in the other towns where she is suspected of stealing wallets or making fraudulent purchases.
Hobbs told police during questionning that she was a Pediatric Dentist at Snodgrass King Pediatric Dental Associates.
DR ROBIN HOBBS Reviews
Robin Hobbs is suspected of running the same scam at dozens of stores.
Posing as a shopper, she allegedly swiped wallets from store employees while they were distracted, sometimes by children she brought to the store, then used their credit cards to rack up purchases, police said
But the Texas woman, wanted in a string of thefts spanning four states and as many months, was finally captured Friday in Nashville, TN said Lt. Bruce Anderson.
Hobbs has been linked to crimes through out Tennessee, Anderson said.
The 29-year-old resident of Nashville, TN., got the attention of police when she allegedly took the wallets of three employees at three different stores in the Mall at Green Hills in December. One of the stolen credit cards was used at a Walgreens in Nashville, and detectives there used surveillance footage from the convenience store and mall shops to identify the suspect, Anderson said.
In the footage, detectives saw Hobbs, another woman and two young children at each of the stores, Anderson said. It is not clear whether Hobbs is the children's mother, or whether the other woman is being sought.
Hobbs again surfaced in Franklin, TN in February, when she grabbed cash and a purse from a nail salon while employees were distracted painting the kids' nails, Anderson said. She used those credit cards at a few stores in Franklin, where she bought more than $2,000 worth of merchandise.
Police were able to get better surveillance footage with each crime, Anderson said, but the big break came when they noticed her vehicle had a TEXAS state license plates from a Black Toyota Corolla registered to a Robert Hobbs.
Nashville detectives James Barker and Mark Johnson sent copies of the surveillance photos to the Texas State Bureau of Probabtion, where officers recognized her as Hobbs.
Police called on Hobbs to surrender for a theft in Franklin, and she turned herself in Friday, Anderson said. They then informed her she was also being arrested on warrants out of Houston, Texas.
Police charged Hobbs with theft over $1,500, theft by deception, credit card theft and credit card fraud. She will likely face similar charges in the other towns where she is suspected of stealing wallets or making fraudulent purchases.
Hobbs told police during questionning that she was a Pediatric Dentist at Snodgrass King Pediatric Dental Associates.