College student robbed while eating in downtown Athens

By Joe Johnson

A college student was enjoying a meal with friends in downtown Athens this week when a thief grabbed her wallet from the table and ran.

A bank card was soon after used to make purchases of nearly $300.

According to an Athens-Clarke County Police Department report, the incident happened as follows:

The 19-year-old student was seated at a table with friends outside of Chick-fil-A on College Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. Monday when two males approached.

While one male distracted the group by asking if anyone had change, the other snatched the student’s wallet and fled. Two of the victim’s companions gave chase but lost the thief on East Broad Street.

The thief dumped the wallet’s contents except for a debit card that was later used at a local Chevron station to make purchases totaling $276.16.

The incident was captured on video by downtown surveillance cameras, footage that is being used by detectives as they try to identify the thief and his partner.