Laptop Thief Busted By Rewards Zone Card

The hunt is on for Fox Point police as they investigate a theft at Best Buy and a big lead from a Rewards Zone card.

When Fox Point police arrived on Dec. 19, a loss prevention employee told officers just minutes earlier a woman had concealed a laptop under her winter coat, but turned the computer over to a Best Buy employee when she was confronted in the store.

Surveillance footage showed the woman purchase a printer at the registers in the computer department of the store. She picked up a laptop off the shelf and headed into an aisle in the movie section, putting the printer on the ground, the police report said. She unzipped her coat and put the laptop, in it’s packaging, inside her coat, zipped it back up, and headed to the end of the aisle when she was confronted by the manager. The report says in the video, the manager is talking with the suspect before she unzips her coat and hands the computer over to the manager.

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She walked out of the store, jumped into a car and left, according to the report. 

But the same woman had bought a printer, valued at $499.99, just a bit earlier and she used her Best Buy Rewards Card, which has a name and address on file with the store, the report said. After police left messages with the cars' registered owner and the owner of the Rewards Zone card, police received a call back around 9 p.m. the same day from a woman who said she had been at Best Buy in Fox Point earlier to purchase a printer. She said she did not conceal a computer however, but agreed to come to the station to discuss the incident, according to the report.

But the suspect didn't go to the police department at the agreed upon time with the officer. When police called her, she said she couldn’t arrange a ride, the report said. She hung up on the officer while he attempted to reschedule a time with her. When they called back, and physically visited the address listed, they could not find her.

Police are still investigating.