By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – A purse-snatching inside a grocery store in Port Angeles has resulted in the 79-year-old victim of the crime lying in the hospital and police investigators getting closer to arresting the suspects.
On Sunday at about 11:15am officers were called to the downtown Safeway after a male suspect stole the purse from a woman’s shopping cart and ran from the store. The victim followed the suspect into the parking lot, presumably to try and get her purse back or identify the thief, only to see him jump into a car waiting in the lot.
Deputy Police Chief Jason Viada describes what happened next.
“He got into a car, and the victim was standing between the open car door and the body of the car, when an accomplice guns the engine and drove the car backwards across the grocery store parking lot. And that caused the victim to fall down and be drug by the door of the car, and the suspects drove away, and the victim was taken to the hospital with substantial injuries.”
The suspects then fled in the vehicle, but Viada is confident in the evidence left behind, as several witnesses were helpful in identifying the two.
“Yes, PAPD’s investigation is very much moving forward, and we have solid suspects in the case, and we are working to get them in custody. But at the same time, they know who they are, and we encourage them to present themselves peacefully for arrest, and the sooner the better.”
PAPD encourages anyone with additional information about this case to call 452-4545 and ask Officer Jackson VanDusen or any available officer.