Two Purse-Snatchers Arrested In Norcross: Authorities

NORCROSS, GA -- Two teenagers are behind bars in Gwinnett County after being arrested in connection with two recent robberies, authorities said Tuesday. In both incidents, women were targeted after leaving stores in Norcross, police said.

Christian J. Williams, 17, of Stone Mountain and Deon R. Hawkins, 17, of Decatur are accused of snatching purses from women near two Norcross establishments -- the El Jalisco Market and Crestwood Apartments. (SIGN UP: For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. Or if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

At the El Jalisco Market, a 71-year old woman called 911 on July 24 when a man ran up behind her and snatched her purse and fled, Gwinnett police said. An onlooker chased the suspects into some nearby apartments, but lost them.

On July 28, a 43-year old woman at Crestwood Apartments told officers that on her walk home from a nearby grocery store, she felt like someone was following her. What happened next, took her by surprise.

"She said that shortly after arriving onto the apartment complex property, one of the suspects began to walk alongside her. That male then snatched her purse and then both suspects ran towards South Norcross Tucker Road," Gwinnett police said in news release.

Investigators interviewing people at a convenience store in the vicinity caught a break when an employee said that one of the suspects was possibly at the Aztec Taqueria restaurant on South Norcross Tucker Road, Norcross). Officers arrested both suspects inside the restaurant.

Gwinnett authorties said that Williams was charged in both robberies, while Hawkins was only charged in the July 28 incident.

Image via Gwinnett Police Department