Bridal shop owner says convicted thief walked out of her Sandy Spring store with thousands

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A convicted thief is on the run in Alabama, but not before being arrested in Sandy Springs.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden spoke with the owner of a Sandy Springs bridal who says she captured surveillance footage of a convicted thief stealing from her.

The owner of Bridal Sense on Roswell Road, who asked to only be identified as Nancy, says she’s grateful for the opportunity to get to play a role in people’s special occasions.

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But back in March, she says a woman in a mask showed up to her store claiming to look for a dress.

“[I] pointed some things out to her, put a catalog on my counter and said, ‘Make yourself at home,’” Nancy said.

She says the surveillance video shows that the woman was not in the store to stop.

“She made sure that I rounded the corner and went back into my office and went digging through our bags and came back out and then went back in and took my wallet and walked out the door,” Nancy described.

Within minutes, she had gotten an alert from the bank that someone had used the incorrect PIN on one of her cards.

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Nancy says the woman stole thousands of dollars worth of credit cards, checks and cash.

“My husband’s account, my business account, my mother who was in hospice at the time was at home with late-stage dementia and Parkinson’s. And then I have a disabled brother that I take care of,” she said.

Sandy Springs police were able to quickly identify the woman as convicted thief Venice Lipsey. She was arrested shortly after.

According to Fulton County jail records, Lipsey bonded out the day after her arrest.

Seiden found that she has a lengthy criminal history, especially in Chatham County where court records show that she has been arrested and convicted on fraud and theft charges.

Investigators in Alabama told Seiden that they aren’t sure if she is still in the area.

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