Hewitt: Woman wearing medical mask wanted in Walmart purse theft

A woman caught by a surveillance camera wearing a scarce medical mask is wanted in the theft of a purse from a shopper at the Hewitt Walmart store.

The theft occurred at around 2:30 p.m. Monday at the store at 733 Sun Valley Blvd., Hewitt police Chief Jim Devlin said.

Investigating officers obtained surveillance video from the store that shows the 71-year-old victim shopping.

Another shopper pointed something out to the woman, and then the masked woman approached and took the purse.

"The accomplice even starts rearranging items in the cart to make it look less obvious that the purse is gone," Devlin said.

"It appears they're working in conjunction, the two suspects definitely make eye contact with each other in the video."

Police arrested Lisa Ann Pounder, 50, was with the victim when officers arrived at the store.

She was arrested a few hours later.

She’s been charged with theft of property between $2,500 and $30,000 of an elderly individual.

"They took her information and left," said Devlin.

"They found Ms. Pounder that same afternoon and arrested her."

Detectives are still looking for the woman in the mask.

"The police officer in me says she's wearing it to conceal her identity, but since we have this issue with COVID-19 going around, it's impossible to tell," said Devlin.

Investigators are asking anyone who recognizes the woman to call the Hewitt Police Department at (254) 666-6272.