Davie Police Bag Suspected Purse Snatcher
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HALLANDALE (CBSMiami) – A man suspected of snatching purses all over South Florida was stopped on Hallandale Beach Boulevard Tuesday.
His capture comes after two more purse snatchings earlier in the day – one at a Publix in Southwest Ranches and the other not long after at a Publix on Miami Gardens Drive near I-75.
"An hour ago? Oh my god, that was in daylight. Wow, that's scary," said shopper Monica Diego.
In the northwest Miami-Dade case, witnesses said he jumped out of his car and went after this woman's purse.
A witness and a victim were taken to the scene where the man was stopped in Hallandale so they could identify him.
At one point, he smiled while a victim was trying to ID him.
Police said usually he doesn't even get out of the car for the crime – it's more of a drive by snatching.
"He's driving the vehicle while the women are walking towards their car of the store, coming up from behind, reaching out the driver's window and snatching their purse," explained Davie Police Sgt. Mark Leone.
Police said the description of the man and the car are the same in most of the cases. When officers looked inside his vehicle, they pulled out several items. Investigators said it seems he's been most active in Davie and Southwest Ranches.
"Over the past couple weeks we've had six incidents in Davie that we believe are tied together. Those are also tied with these other purse snatchings throughout the county and some areas of Miami-Dade County," Leone said.
If you have any information that can help police, contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS or Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS.
