Paulding County

Video shows thief swipe nearly $1K from women sitting in car, waiting to pay bill

HIRAM, Ga. — Surveillance video shows a bold thief commit a crime in broad daylight at a storage facility in Paulding County.

Two women were sitting in a car when a silver car pulled up.

A man jumped out, ran to their car, grabbed money and then took off.

"The car came into the parking lot and I saw the car. But I was just thinking it was someone waiting for the storage place to open up," victim Betty Jackson said.

Jackson and her daughter-in-law were waiting on the storage facility off Hiram Acworth Highway to open moments before the crime happened.

They needed to pay a bill and had just come from the bank.

"It was going for storage. It was going for my rent. It was going for my groceries, my lights," Jackson said.

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Video shows as the women waited, the silver car, a Chrysler, was being driven in and out of the parking lot. Jackson's window was open.

"I mean, it was like it was in slow motion. I mean, he just reached in, grabbed my money and run with it," she said. "I couldn't believe it. I'm the kind of person that trusts everybody, not anymore."

The money was in the bank envelope, sitting on the dashboard. Nearly $1,000 was stolen.

"It appears that the Chrysler 300 was actually watching them as they were sitting in their car," Paulding County PIO Ashley Henson said.

Investigators want to know whether the criminals followed the victims from the bank.

"What it looks like, preliminarily, they saw the victims at the bank. They followed them to the storage place and they were waiting for the opportune time to go in and take the money from them," Henson said.

Paulding deputies say this is why it's so important to be aware of your surroundings, especially when you're at a bank.

They need everyone's help identifying the suspect or the getaway car.