Cops Crack Last Week's Purse Snatching in Walnut Creek

Two teenage boys have been arrested in connection with a purse snatching in downtown Walnut Creek, police said today.

The robbery happened around 10:45 a.m. last Friday when one of the suspects approached a 45-year-old woman walking on Olympic Boulevard near South Main Street, grabbed her purse and ran into a parking garage, according to the Walnut Creek Police Department.

A few bystanders who witnessed the robbery chased the teen, who jumped into a waiting white pickup truck, according to Lt. Steve Gorski.

[Previous: Friday Purse Snatching on Olympic & Main.]

Another suspect exited the truck and threatened the bystanders with a baseball bat before getting back in the vehicle and driving away, the lieutenant said.

No one was injured.

Gorski said investigators used the bystanders' detailed descriptions of the two suspects and the getaway vehicle to identify them and obtain search warrants.

Officers served the search warrants at two homes in Pittsburg on Thursday with the help of Pittsburg police and arrested two 17-year-old boys in connection with the robbery.

One of the teens was arrested on suspicion of felony grand theft from a person and conspiracy and the other was arrested for alleged felony assault with a deadly weapon and grand theft from a person, according to police.

Both were taken to Juvenile Hall in Martinez where they remained as of this afternoon.

Gorski said that while police don't want to encourage people to intervene in potentially violent situations, the witnesses in this case "really jumped into action to help here and it turned out to be good."

--Bay City News