A mother-daughter crime team is robbing men outside Seattle's hottest night spots by hugging them then stealing their wallets during the embrace, according to Seattle Police.
Investigators shared a picture of a man they say was recently targeted by one of the suspects outside a bar in Belltown. The picture was taken by the victim's friend, who thought the hug by a friendly stranger was just drunken fun.
Instead, investigators believe it was a crime in progress.
“In the process of those hugs, they are alleviating those men of their cellphones, wallets and other valuables,” Drew Fowler of the Seattle Police Department told KIRO 7 on Friday.
Fowler said the suspects use the hugs “as a ploy to get close and take advantage” of the men’s “intoxication.”
The woman in the evidence photo is 27-year old Porscha Drummer of Seattle, according to police investigation documents. Investigators traced credit and debit cards they say Drummer stole from a different man in April being used in mini-marts.
Surveillance video from those mini-marts showed Drummer with 47-year old Yolanda Martin, who was arrested and convicted four years ago on five counts of the same pickpocket crime spree.
At the time, Martin was nicknamed the "Hugger Mugger Bandit" by police. Now, Martin has allegedly passed the tricks of the trade to her daughter, Porscha Drummer.
Police have identified multiple victims. But they believe there could be many more who simply thought they lost their valuables during a night of drinking in Seattle, which is why investigators were willing to share details of the crimes and a picture of the suspect.
KIRO 7 obtained the mug shot of Martin from the Washington State Department of Corrections, because she has many prior felony convictions.
Investigators would like anyone who may have been targeted to contact Seattle Police as detectives build their case.
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