Women caught on camera stealing at Clovis bakery

CLOVIS, Cali (KFSN) -- An unlikely group of purse thieves strikes a family-owned bakery in Clovis. The theft is far more damaging than it would appear.

Four adult women are in the video. They walk into Ruben's Bakery distracted a worker and stole her purse, with several irreplaceable items and hundreds of dollars in cash. The actual theft happened quickly.

"I come to work and I don't feel as safe anymore," said Ruben's employee, Shanel. "I kind of feel violated, you know. It's not the same."

In the video the women appear to have a plan. As two of the women chat up Shanel, the only person working the front counter, the other two women appear to be scoping things out on the side of the shop.

"The fact that it was older grown women and there were several of them and it appeared that they were all in cahoots with it," said Martha Villegas, Ruben's co-owner. "That was disturbing."

One of the ladies hesitates as the cook comes out from the kitchen. She waits until he returns, then she and her friend move in to swipe Shanel's purse. In the purse was $400, her social security card, driver's license, make-up and keys to her new Jeep, all expensive to replace.

"It is frustrating because I have two kids and I'm trying to support them, support myself," Shanel said. "That money I was saving up to pay my bills. Now I have to figure out what to do because they have all that money."

Looking back the distractions, Shanel says, were dumb. "I guess I could have been more alert of it," she said. "But I was just trying to have small talk and be nice."

One of the women distracting Shanel just stands and eats her pastry as the other two pull off the heist. "They were stealing some sweet bread and putting it in their purse as well," Villegas said.

Then the ladies just walk out of the bakery, leaving a theft trail that will cost more than $1,000 to clean up. The keys to the shop were also in the purse, so the locks have since been replaced. A police report has been filed.

The family knows this isn't the worst crime, but they say it's the principal and boldness of those women that have then so angry.