Dalton police searching for suspects in scamming of elderly man

Dalton police are searching for two women and a man they say were involved in scamming an elderly man out of a large amount of money, according to a news release from the Dalton Police Department.

The 77-year-old man was walking to Walmart Neighborhood Market on Walnut Avenue in early November when he was approached by two Hispanic women who asked him for a ride to a Hispanic grocery store. The man, who does not speak English, agreed to give them a ride.

After the women got in his van, they told the man they had won the lottery and needed money to claim the prize. They told him that if he gave them $2,000, they would give him much more money in return for his trouble. The man then drove to Wells Fargo bank on Hamilton Street and withdrew $1,000 in cash, which he put in the glove compartment of his vehicle. Then he drove to a nearby Bank of America location and withdrew $500 from an account there, the release states.

The women told him they still needed another $500, so the man told them he could get it from his residence. But the women refused to go to his house, saying they would wait for him at the post office on Thornton Avenue. However, after the man dropped them off there and later returned with the rest of the cash, the women were gone. He then realized the $1,500 cash he had left in his car was missing.

The female suspects were seen on surveillance arriving in a silver SUV with a Hispanic male at the Walmart. The male suspect approached the victim in the parking lot before he left with the women. Both the female suspects and male suspect were recorded entering and leaving the store without buying anything before they approached the victim as he arrived in the store’s parking lot, according to the release.

One of the female suspects was wearing a light colored coat, dark pants, and a beanie hat. The second one was wearing her hair in a ponytail with a blue and white striped shirt and multicolored patterned pants and light shoes. The male suspect wore a blue button down collared shirt with navy blue pants.

Anyone with information about the crime or any of the three suspects should contact Detective Charles Williams with the Dalton Police Department at 706-278-9085, extension 9280.