Bold Thief Pries Open Boston Store Register, Escapes with Cash

Theft at Mayfair Mall is not unusual. Someone prying open a cash register during business hours is a bit unusual.

At 7:54 p.m. Wednesday, a loss prevention agent for Boston Store called police to report that a man had just pried open an unattended cash register in the handbag department and stolen cash.

The man had been hanging around the store for more than an hour and was being watched, he said, but he had done nothing overt and so store policy prevented any intervention.

At about 7:50 p.m., a clerk in the handbag department heard a crash and saw the man hunched down behind the register, with the drawer wide open. He stood up, she told police, holding something in his hand, and then walked quickly out of the store.

Outside, he waved his arms and then disappeared from view.

After interviewing other employees and reviewing video, the loss prevention agent told police the suspect was believed to have committed at least two prior thefts in the handbag department and was thought to have been the getaway driver in another theft on the previous Monday.

He was described as black, 25 to 30 years old, 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-7-inches tall, 160 to 170 pounds, bald or shaven, and was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and black and white checkered shorts