Eureka Police are trying to locate a man who allegedly is grabbing money out of Walmart employees’ hands after asking them to exchange smaller bills for a larger bill. He allegedly stole $580 from the Eureka location at 131 Eureka Towne Center Drive in the same fashion that he stole a total of $7,520 from at least two other Walmarts in Missouri and Illinois, police reported.
Eureka Police were called at about 3:30 p.m. June 27 after the man allegedly stole money from a cashier. He had asked the cashier to give him a $100 bill in exchange for five $20 bills, but after the cashier exchanged the money with him, he pointed at the serial number on the $100 bill as if something was wrong and asked to see the other $100 in the cash draw, the report said.
When the cashier got the $100 bills out of the register, he snatched the money from her hand and left the store. The man was described as a middle-aged man, who wore glasses, a white hat and a white shirt, according to the report.
Another Walmart employee told Eureka Police, the man who took the money from the cashier matches the description of a suspect who stole money from locations in O’Fallon, Mo., and Granite City, Ill., in similar fashion. The man allegedly stole $420 from the O’Fallon store, and he reportedly stole $7,100 from the Granite City store, Eureka Police reported.
As of June 30, the money had not been recovered, and the man had not been identified, Lt. Michael Werges said. He asks anyone with information about the man to call Eureka Police at 636-938-6600.