The Return of Mr. Big Hands

Michael from City Cellars writes:

Check your archives for a story about Mr. Big Hands about ten years ago (maybe not that long).  Well he is back.  He will steal something and try to return it for a cash.  He tried his scam today at City Cellars without success.  We knew who he was right away.

There’s a blast from the past! Looking back in our archives to 2010, we had this report from Kara at the (now moved on) Not A Number:

today, on our day off, we got a call from our employee saying that Big Hands Guy was back (just a half hour ago). […]

here’s this guy’s M.O.:  he usually has a NY accent, says he’s from Alaska (he’s real friendly, see), and his 8-month pregnant wife is sitting in a coffee shop down the street, and she has all the receipts in her purse.  this is after he’s scouted the premises, found a high-ticket item, and brings it up to the counter to “return”.  luckily, this time, after today trying to “return” a $60 clock, our employee said no returns w/o receipt, and he left (strangely, w/o the clock) to “go get the receipt”.  police came, they’re out looking for him right NOW.

he’s called Big Hands Guy, and looks like this:  about 6’2″, about 210 lbs, has dark hair that’s short but curly, often a mustache, today a red sweatshirt but carrying a grey coat.  the biggest distinguishing characteristic is his hands: they’re swollen, esp the fingers, and reddish, due to some medical condition.  sometimes he says he needs to use a restroom fast due to his medical condition, possibly to just get in for a while.

There’s been quite a bit of turnover in Wallingford, lots of new shopkeepers, so keep an eye out for those big, sticky fingers.

(Photo is NOT of Mr. Big Hands. That is just a photo of a man with a big, fake hand.)