Mother of 3 tracks down and chases man who allegedly stole her wallet, used her credit card

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (KABC) -- A Michigan mother of three took matters into her own hands when her wallet was stolen.

Julie Kobylarz was at the grocery store when someone took her wallet out of her purse. Ten minutes later, she got a notice of a $2,000 purchase at a nearby Apple store. So she went there with her fiance and their three kids.

When she was filing the report with the Apple store manager, she got another notification. This time, it was for a purchase at a different store near by.

"It said someone was trying to make a purchase at Vans, and Vans was right across the hall from the Apple Store," Kobylarz told WXYZ.

She went to the Vans store and confronted the man she believed had her credit cards.

"I said, 'Where's my wallet?' and he said, 'Oh it's right over here,' and he started trying to lead me out of the store then he started walking faster," Kobylarz said.

That's when she chased after him, with her fiance and three kids close behind.

With the help of some bystanders, they were able to hold the suspect until police arrived.

Of course, police strongly urge people not to do this.

Kobylarz said she gets that, but this was the third time someone had stolen from her in the past year, and she was just fed up.

"I'm just so sick of being stolen from, I'm like, this is not happening again. I'm going to get my stuff if I can," Kobylarz told WXYZ. "In hindsight, it might not have been the safest thing to do, but I knew that's what had to be done if he was going to be caught."