Suspect in purse snatching arrested in Las Vegas

A suspect who mugged and forcibly grabbed the purse of a female business owner as she walked in the crosswalk on North Old Woodward Avenue and Harmon after closing her store in Birmingham for the day on Wednesday, January 4, has been arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is awaiting extradition back to Michigan for his arraignment, Birmingham police report.

According to police and a surveillance video from a nearby building, On January 4, at approximately 6:26 p.m., a 64-year-old female was crossing North Old Woodward to Harmon when an unknown male ran up from behind and forcibly wrapped his arms around the female. After a short struggle, he grabbed her purse and fled northbound from the area. Birmingham police said no weapons were shown or implied.

A witness later told officers that they saw a male wearing a black hooded coat and light grey sweatpants walking out of an alley to cross North Old Woodward.

Birmingham police reported the suspect used her credit cards at multiple locations in surrounding cities. Detectives conducted an extensive investigation with the assistance of the Birmingham police officer assigned to the multi-jurisdictional Special Investigations Unit, which is comprised of several officers from neighboring agencies.

Ryan Kearney, Birmingham Police Operations Captain, said a suspect was identified and detectives presented their investigation to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, which returned a felony warrant for one count of robbery, unarmed, and three counts of financial transaction device, stealing/retaining without permission.

As part of their investigation, Kearney said Birmingham detectives learned the suspect had traveled to Nevada. “With the assistance of Las Vegas Metro Police Department, Major Violator Section and the FBI Criminal Apprehension Team, the suspect was arrested and is now awaiting extradition back to Michigan for arraignment,” Kearney reported.