Woman Stops L.I. Purse Snatching By Fighting Back
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBS 2/1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- A Manhattan woman who had her purse snatched turned the tables on a fleet-footed robbery suspect. She chased after him, recovered her purse and a lot more.
A woman police identified only as "Diana" was at the Mineola train station Tuesday night, sitting on a bench, when a purse snatcher sized her up and grabbed her purse.
"He obviously thought I was an easy target and that wasn't the case. I guess he saw a pretty little pink jacket and a hat with a flower on it and thought I was easy, Diana told reporters including CBS 2's John Slattery.
She didn't stop the man from eventually fleeing, but did get her purse back along with his jacket and gloves.
"I just kind of looked up at him, he looked at me, grabbed my bag and started to run," Diana said.
"He pushed me so I fell down the stairs. He got a little bit of a lead from me at that point," she said.
Even though she was hurt, she got up and gave chase and eventually caught up with the suspect, 1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan reported.
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1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan reports
The 32-year-old woman and former athlete, who took martial arts, grabbed the man and delivered several kicks.
She said she chased him into an alley, where she grabbed him. According to the woman, the suspect pleaded with her to let him go and said "I dropped your bag, I dropped your bag," in a heavy Spanish accent.
Diana said she never thought of letting the man get away, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported.
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WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reports
"I held onto him as long as I could, but he weaseled out of his jacket because I had such a tight grip on his jacket," Diana said.
With the empty-handed thief in the wind, police don't recommend that victims chase thieves, but Diana said she is glad she did.
"He was going home jacketless and hopefully freezing somewhere. And I went home with everything in my pocketbook," Diana said.
Police are looking for a man with pockmarks, about 25 years old, 5-foot-5, who fits into the size small jacket that was captured by the victim.
