Women accused of robbing Scottsdale special needs grocery store worker

2 women arrested, accused of robbing Scottsdale grocery store worker with special needs

The women are accused of targeting a grocery store worker in Scottsdale, with the pair allegedly making off with the victim's wallet. FOX 10's Stephanie Bennett has more on what happened.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Police in Scottsdale say two women who robbed a special needs grocery store employee of over $700 have been arrested.

The victim was working at a Fry's Food Store near 90th Street and Shea Boulevard on Sept. 25 when Scottsdale Police say he was approached in the parking lot by two 18-year-olds, identified in court documents as Paradise Emerald Felisha Adams and Pearl Champagne Mitchell. The women convinced him to give them his wallet for a broken iPhone.

"The pair kept the wallet and later used the victim's debit card to make unauthorized transactions of over $700," police said.

Police say the women knew that the victim was special needs before they approached him.

Court documents reveal additional details

According to court documents for Mitchell, the male victim, whose identity was redacted from the documents, was working as a lot attendant when the incident happened.

The victim, according to investigators, was collecting shopping carts when he was approached by the two suspects in a vehicle. The vehicle Adams and Mitchell were alleged in at the time of the incident was identified because a store manager wrote down the vehicle's license plate out of suspicion.

Portions of the incident were reportedly captured on surveillance cameras.

"[The victim] appears to be speaking with the occupants for several minutes," read a portion of the court documents. "Eventually, [the victim] turns and walks away. As he does this, the truck speeds away towards the Chase Bank in the same parking lot."

Investigators say it wasn't until the victim reentered the store did he notice his wallet was missing, and that he is now in possession of the iPhone. The wallet was reportedly returned to the victim's mother, but the victim's debit card was not found.

Investigators say they were able to identify both Adams and Mitchell as the suspects through surveillance video and multiple search warrants.

Adams was arrested on Oct. 7, and Mitchell was arrested on Oct. 14. After the arrests, Adams told police that they were initially in the parking lot to sell Halloween baskets in order to make money for their kids, and that it was Mitchell's idea to ask random people for money.

Adams, according to investigators, also said that Mitchell targeted the victim because of his special needs.

Investigators said an interview with Mitchell was stopped after Mitchell mentioned that she is illiterate and that her family has hired a lawyer regarding the matter.

Both Adams and Mitchell were booked into jail, and are accused of credit card theft and fraud. Mitchell, according to court documents, was released by a judge on her own recognizance.

According to the Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, being released on a person's own recognizance means the person is released without bail. The same court documents, however, listed a number of conditions for Mitchell, which includes a ban on returning to the scene of the alleged crime, a ban on contacting the alleged victim, and an order to undergo fingerprinting.