WATERTOWN, NY — On the evening of Oct. 29, 2018, Norma Pacheco-Sanchez was at Aldi, 1165 Arsenal St., when she forgot her wallet near one of the registers, according to the Watertown Police Department.
When she returned to the store to retrieve her wallet, it could not be found, police said.
Using store security video, a male was seen taking the wallet and secreting it in a paper bag, police said. Within a short time of the wallet being stolen, someone attempted to make an unauthorized purchase with two of the stolen credit cards at the LeRay Street Dairy Market, 616 LeRay St., police said.
On Thursday, Nov. 1, detectives from the Watertown Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division were able to identify the suspect from the Aldi video. He was located and interviewed.
As a result of the investigation, police were able to recover some of the stolen property.
Peter M. Nelli, 30, of 423 Lincoln St., Watertown, was charged Thursday with fourth-degree grand larceny for stealing the wallet and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property for attempting to use the stolen credit cards at the LeRay Street Dairy Market, 616 LeRay St.
Mr. Nelli was processed at the Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building and issued an appearance ticket to appear Nov. 14 in City Court.
Watertown police were assisted in this investigation by the Metro Jeff Drug Task Force, uniformed patrol and the Jefferson County Probation Department.