Authorities Arrest Man Accused Of Using Toddler To Steal Purse

Saturday, September 29th 2007, 9:50 pm

By: News On 6

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) _ A man who authorities say was seen on a surveillance video using his 4-year-old granddaughter to steal a purse from a boardwalk arcade worker was arrested Saturday in Connecticut, police said.

Police said 52-year-old Daniel Twomey was arrested at about 10 a.m. after being found asleep in his car in a McDonald's parking lot in Greenwich, Conn. Police tracked him using a tip that a signal from his cell phone had been traced to the area, said Greenwich Sgt. Jim Marr.

He was expected to be extradited back to New Jersey after the weekend, said Seaside Heights police Capt. Dave Szalkowski.

Seaside Heights police said the theft happened just after midnight Sunday at Lucky Leo's in Seaside Heights.

The video shows an adult with shoulder-length brown hair using a foot to push the girl under a swinging security door and the child steals a worker's purse. The investigation eventually focused on Twomey after an anonymous phone call and his attempt to use the victim's ATM card, Szalkowski said. The girl was identified as his granddaughter, said Szalkowski.

Twomey faces potential charges of endangering the welfare of a child, and employing a minor in a criminal act, Szalkowski said. Bail had been set at $150,000 upon Twomey's arrest, and he's been ordered not to have contact with his grandchildren.

A listed phone number for Twomey could not be found. Both Szalkowski and Marr didn't know if Twomey had a lawyer.