Bainbridge Public Safety officers caught two shoplifting suspects and investigated two reports of stolen purses at Wal-Mart within the last week.

On Friday, Jan. 29, a woman was shopping at the store when a man took her purse out of her shopping cart. The victim stated she yelled at the thief and ran towards him, causing him to drop the purse and flee before anything could be taken out of it. Officers tried to find a suspect; one man who matched the description given to officers was released after the victim said he wasn’t the thief.

On Wed., Jan. 27, a woman reported her purse was taken from her shopping cart during the time she left it for a moment to walk down an aisle. Another woman passing by helped the victim look for her purse, saw it on a nearby shelf and returned it to her. However, a smaller money purse containing cash, a driver’s license and financial cards were missing.

On Jan. 25, BPS arrested Danny Leon Baker, 30, of 140 Clark Drive in Attapulgus, and charged him with shoplifting. Officer Taylor Mills found Baker, who matched the description of a man who had ran out of the store without paying for items, on the 200 block of Alice Street. Officer Mills observed Baker was out of breath and carrying the clothing items which had been reported stolen, without a receipt. Multiple Walmart employees stated to Mills that they recognized Baker from previous incidents.

On Jan. 27, BPS officers arrested Nicholas Hirsch, 18, of 138 Deer Trail Road, Bainbridge, and charged him with shoplifting after an employee witnessed him go into a bathroom with several items of clothing.