Pair accused of 'prolific' pickpocketing in downtown Seattle

The empty briefcase was a dead giveaway, only Joan Kattenhorn didn't know it at first.

It wasn't until later that the Stanwood woman realized the accommodating man who allowed her to search him — and his briefcase — was likely the same man who had lifted the wallet from her purse. By the time she asked herself, "Who carries an empty briefcase?" the man — and her wallet — were long gone.

"I was pissed," Kattenhorn said. "At that point I carried a lot of [personal] information in my wallet. I had never been a victim of a crime."

Seattle police say Kattenhorn was likely a victim of two "slick" and prolific pickpockets who may have hit dozens of people in downtown Seattle over the past several years.

The men were each charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree theft and three counts of identity theft, with additional charges likely.

Charles Cherry and Edward Maloy, who are being held at the King County Jail on $75,000 bail each, have been working their pickpocketing routine since at least 2008, according to King County prosecutors. Seattle police Detective Frank Clark said the thefts could date to as early as 2005.

In addition to the cases leading to Thursday's criminal charges, Clark said he is investigating more than two dozen others for possible links to Cherry and Maloy, including the theft last fall of Kattenhorn's wallet.

Clark said he believes the men are the most prolific pickpockets he has seen in his seven years in the police Robbery Unit.

According to prosecutors, Cherry, 47, and Maloy, 48, have been targeting mostly women shoppers or bus passengers. In several instances, the men immediately took stolen credit cards to nearby stores and began racking up purchases.

In a common ploy, Cherry or Maloy would press up against a victim then reach into a purse, police said. Police said they would often "sandwich" a victim between them, with one man stopping suddenly in front of a victim while the second reached into a purse from behind.

"They were just real slick the way they did it," Clark said. "Metro buses were their main thing. They also liked doing pickpockets on escalators."

Outside Safeco Center

Kattenhorn, 44, said she lost her wallet after she was sandwiched between two men Oct. 30 as she tried to board a Community Transit bus outside her office at Safeco Center.

Kattenhorn, who catches the bus at Second Avenue and Seneca Street, said she was taken aback by a rude stranger who shoved her out of the way to climb onto the bus first.

She said the well-dressed man, whom she didn't recognize as a regular, stopped to talk to the driver while a second well-dressed man stood close behind her.

Within minutes, the men disembarked. That's when Kattenhorn noticed her wallet was missing.

Kattenhorn loudly announced she had been robbed and bolted from the bus. She ran toward the man who had shoved his way onto the bus. As Kattenhorn reached him, she screamed that he had stolen her wallet.

The man told Kattenhorn he didn't have her wallet. He even told her she could search him, which she did. Kattenhorn said she found nothing in the pockets of the man's trench coat and his briefcase was completely empty.

She returned to her office and immediately canceled her credit cards. It was then that she realized the empty briefcase was likely a prop.

While the men have not been charged in Kattenhorn's case, Clark said he spoke with the woman Wednesday and is certain Cherry and Maloy are behind the theft of her wallet.

Clark said she is the only victim to confront the men. Most didn't know they were pickpocketed until after the men had disappeared.

"They had a definite pattern to the way they did things," Clark said of the suspects.

On escalator

According to charging documents, the men "sandwiched" a woman while she was on an escalator inside the Meridian 16 theater on Dec. 31, 2008. The man in front knelt down as he reached the top of the escalator and the second man, standing behind the woman, reached into her purse and took her wallet.

Another woman said she was pickpocketed while she was trying to board a bus in the 1500 block of Third Avenue on Feb. 18, 2008; and a tourist from Germany was pickpocketed in the 1500 block of Fourth Avenue on July 22, 2008.

Two more women are believed to have been pickpocketed by the men while downtown in January; and a Vashon Island woman had her wallet stolen while riding a bus Monday.

Cherry and Maloy were arrested Monday after being linked to the crimes through a photo montage as well as security video from stores where stolen credit cards were used for purchases, prosecutors said.

Cherry has prior convictions for drug possession and two different theft cases; Maloy has been convicted of theft eight times in Washington, according to charging documents.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com