PINECREST, Fla. – Pinecrest police have arrested a man they said pick-pocketed a 94-year-old man inside a Publix in late December.
Derrick Hope, 56, was charged with the crime Thursday while he was in jail for unrelated charges.
According to detectives, Hope was a person of interest early on in the investigation and detectives had already spoken to Hope's parole officer, who notified detectives that Hope was in jail Wednesday.
Detectives said they spoke to Hope the next day and he confessed to stealing the elderly man's wallet.
The theft was reported Dec. 29 at a Publix on Pinecrest Parkway.
Police said Hope followed the victim, who is an Air Force veteran, around the supermarket and bumped into his lower back while he was bent down to grab a few cans of cat food.
Police said Hope snatched the man's wallet, which contained $65.
"He's a very diligent guy, and he got me when I wasn't paying attention," the victim, John Burt, said.
Burt noticed that his wallet was missing from his back pants pocket when he went to the cash register to pay for the cat food.
"He took my credit cards right out of my pocket, like it was an easy thing for him to do, but it was very tough on me," Burt said.
Detectives said Hope racked up charges of more than $6,000 on Burt's credit card at Bloomingdales at The Falls mall.
According to an arrest report, Hope is unemployed and on probation.
Police said he is linked to similar pick-pocket incidents in other municipalities, including Surfside. Police said Hope's arrest history includes charges of robbery, resisting officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer.
Hope now faces charges of petit theft, grand theft, battery on a person 65 or older and fraud-related charges.
According to the report, Hope denied pick-pocketing the elderly veteran at the Publix, but said he wanted to cooperate with the credit card fraud allegations because his girlfriend is one-month pregnant.
Hope was ordered held in jail Friday on a $43,000 bond.