Police arrested a prison guard from Maebashi Prison in Gunma Prefecture on suspicion of snatching a sports bag from a female pedestrian in the city of Shizuoka late Thursday.
Kenji Tsukamoto, 28, allegedly grabbed the bag from the 25-year-old woman as she was walking home at around 9:10 p.m. from a gym in the Hontori district. The bag contained 18,000 yen in cash, a wallet and other personal belongings. She was not hurt.
The woman went to the nearest police post, and an officer later stopped Tsukamoto on a street about 200 meters away from where the crime took place.
Police said Tsukamoto was acting suspiciously and the officer stopped him for questioning. The stolen bag reportedly dropped out of his coat while he was being questioned, at which point he admitted stealing it.
Tsukamoto was on a trip to Shizuoka with two colleagues from Maebashi Prison to visit Shizuoka Prison. Police officials said Tsukamoto was alone during the incident.