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Man Suspected Of Stealing Expensive Bras From San Mateo Open House

SAN MATEO (KPIX) -- Police are searching for a man suspected of stealing expensive bras from a San Mateo home during a realtor-hosted open house on Sunday.

Police say it looks like a man, posing as a potential home buyer, walked out with the expensive lingerie.

According to the realtor, who did not want to be on camera, the suspect introduced himself as James before walking in to take a look around the house. What he did next was partially captured by surveillance cameras.

In the video, it started out as a typical client interaction at an open house but it ended in one of the most bizarre ways possible.

The agent lets the man tour the house and shuts the door as he goes outside. You can then see the man, walk out of the camera's view to take a look at one of the bedrooms. When he comes back, officers say, you can notice a visible bulge by his stomach and it looks as if he just stuffed something underneath his shirt.

Michael Haobsh with the San Mateo police department said, "This is a peculiar case and that's why I think it's important for people to know the ramifications of inviting unknown people to their homes."

Officer Hoabsh says the man stole five bras and those are the only items he left with.

The San Mateo PD is asking the public to help them solve this case.

What "James" stole has investigators curious about his motive and criminal history.

Officer Hoabsh added, "We don't know what the mindset of this man is and that's why it's important for us to find out why he walked into this house -- if he stole these bras -- and we should probably take a look at his background too."

The realtor said that, in most cases, he leaves the front door wide open during open houses to be able to keep an eye on his clients. But, in this case, the homeowners wanted to make sure he didn't let the cat out and that's why he closed the door.

Police say the suspect is described as an Asian male between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall with a slender build and was wearing glasses, a gray long-sleeve shirt, vest and jeans.

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