Brazen 'Purse Snatching' In Store Parking Lot Foiled By Victim: Police

EAST HAVEN, CT — The straps on a shopping carriage were meant to secure a child. For one local woman, securing her purse with those straps foiled a robbery Monday night in an East Haven parking lot, police said.

It was just after 7:30 p.m., when the East Haven Public Safety Dispatch Center received a 911 from a woman saying she'd just been the victim of an attempted purse snatching in the ShopRite parking lot, police spokesperson Capt. Joseph M. Murgo said.

When cops got there, they learned that a red or maroon Kia Sportage with CT plates, which were unreadable due to "poor video quality," Murgo said, began circling the lot.

Murgo explained what happened next: The Kia is seen pulling up to the woman as she walked with her carriage through the lot, and then it pulled tightly alongside her and stopped while she began to cross the lot. Murgo said the woman told cops a "Black male wearing a light blue hoodie stuck his arm out of the rear passenger side window and grabbed her purse in the shopping cart," as the female driver of the car tried to speed away.

But the woman had secured her purse strap to the shopping cart with the child seat belt, and as the man was unable to remove it, the cart was "briefly dragged" through the parking lot, Murgo said.

The Kia then sped away on Route 80, Murgo said.

"It should be noted that the complainants simple yet effective proactive measure in securing her pocketbook made all the difference in this incident," Murgo said.

Anyone with information regarding the identity of the suspects or the vehicle pictured is asked to contact the East Haven Police Department at 203-468-3820.