A woman who reported to police that her purse was stolen at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is charged after purportedly stealing a purse from another casino patron. The supposed-to-be victim who has now become the suspect is Brenda Joyce Underwood, age 53, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio.
Police went to the casino at 77 Sands Boulevard in response to a distress call at 12:04pm last Sunday, October 16. Brenda Underwood said her purse had been stolen earlier that day at the casino, but police stated she never reported that the purse was missing.
According to the police, upon seeing another purse at the north entrance of the casino, Brenda grabbed it, took out its contents in a restroom and when she found nothing in there was valuable, she threw the purse in the trash bin. "Since someone stole my purse, I'm taking this one," Brenda said to police.
The owner of the purse that Brenda stole later reported to Sands Casino security that her purse was stolen. Whilst reviewing the casino's surveillance videos, police saw the victim dropping the purse at the north entrance, and a brief moment later, Brenda picked it up and went to the restroom.
According to court records, the victim took a bus to the casino and had been carrying several bags with her, and did not immediately notice that her purse fell on the floor of the casino's north entrance.
Brenda is charged with one count of theft and receiving stolen property. On October 16, Sunday, she was arraigned before District Judge Robert Hawke, who set her bail at $20,000. In lieu of bail, Brenda was taken to the Northampton County Prison.
What would you do if somebody stole your purse (or wallet)? Would you do the same?
Come to think of it, did Brenda really had her purse stolen in the first place? We'll never know.
Source: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2016/10/woman_snatches_purse_at_sands.html