BOARDMAN, Ohio - 21 News has learned that U.S. Marshals and the Boardman police have arrested two suspects that detectives believe are responsible for three purse snatchings, including one at Aldi's in February.

A tip from a caller and then eyewitness identifications led police to one of the suspects, and now authorities believe they have both suspects responsible for stealing purses of shoppers directly out of their shopping carts.

It is a crime of opportunity that is becoming more and more frequent. Purse snatchings where the suspects use a ploy to distract the victim, like claiming they need help to find a certain item at the store, then grab the victim's wallet or their entire purse from the shopping cart and make a run for it.

It happened twice on Wednesday in Boardman. The first time was at the Aldi's on South Avenue. But thanks to an alert store clerk, the female suspect, Gertrude Gastaldo of Struthers, left empty handed.

Less than 20 minutes later at Marc's, the same female suspect snatched another woman's purse from her cart, this time successfully. She left the store and jumped in to the passenger seat of a gold Ford pick-up.

The U.S. Marshal's and Boardman Police have arrested Gertrude Gastaldo and suspect that Frank Karcher, III was her getaway driver.

Police want to remind shoppers to keep their guard up and never put a purse in a shopping cart.