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Thief targeted man in wheelchair, police say

Suspect stole wallet when caregivers looked away

A man with ALS was inside a radioshack with his caregiver when a man stole his wallet.
A man with ALS was inside a radioshack with his caregiver when a man stole his wallet.
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Thief targeted man in wheelchair, police say
Suspect stole wallet when caregivers looked away
Police in Plaistow are looking for the thief who targeted a man in a wheelchair Tuesday afternoon and snatched his wallet in the few seconds his caregivers looked away.Martin Wallem, from Epping, was inside the store in his wheelchair with his two caregivers at his side. Fifteen years of ALS has taken his ability to move or speak.Police say a man took advantage of that and as the caregivers placed Martin's wallet on the counter to pay, police say the man swiped it.Casey White, Martin's nurse said, "I went to pay for it, I gave the man his credit card and I went to turn around and talk to Martin for a second and turned back and the man in that amount of time had just swooped over, pocketed the wallet and went out the door.Martin's wallet not only had cash inside, but important medical cards. His wife was stunned when she heard her husband was targeted.Cara Wallem, Martin's wife said, "This person knew exactly what he was doing. He was taking advantage of the situation of caregivers being distracted to help their patient.Police are also outraged. "Here's a man unable to take care of himself and unable to move around and do things and the man who took the wallet didn't really care about that person at all, it's pretty sad," Sgt Alec Porter of Plaistow Police Department said.Martin is an avid adaptive sports athlete, he tackles mountains with a team around his wheelchair, hiking in Franconia Notch last weekend. His support team says this crime cannot be a setback.Plaistow police say if you know who committed the crime inside the Radio Shack to give them a call.

Police in Plaistow are looking for the thief who targeted a man in a wheelchair Tuesday afternoon and snatched his wallet in the few seconds his caregivers looked away.

Martin Wallem, from Epping, was inside the store in his wheelchair with his two caregivers at his side. Fifteen years of ALS has taken his ability to move or speak.

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Police say a man took advantage of that and as the caregivers placed Martin's wallet on the counter to pay, police say the man swiped it.

Casey White, Martin's nurse said, "I went to pay for it, I gave the man his credit card and I went to turn around and talk to Martin for a second and turned back and the man in that amount of time had just swooped over, pocketed the wallet and went out the door.

Martin's wallet not only had cash inside, but important medical cards. His wife was stunned when she heard her husband was targeted.

Cara Wallem, Martin's wife said, "This person knew exactly what he was doing. He was taking advantage of the situation of caregivers being distracted to help their patient.

Police are also outraged. "Here's a man unable to take care of himself and unable to move around and do things and the man who took the wallet didn't really care about that person at all, it's pretty sad," Sgt Alec Porter of Plaistow Police Department said.

Martin is an avid adaptive sports athlete, he tackles mountains with a team around his wheelchair, hiking in Franconia Notch last weekend. His support team says this crime cannot be a setback.

Plaistow police say if you know who committed the crime inside the Radio Shack to give them a call.