WYOMING, Mich. -- Police from multiple agencies have teamed up to arrest two suspects after a pair of purse snatchings on Thursday afternoon.
Kent County Sheriff's deputies say they arrested a 16-year-old from Wyoming for the first incident. They say two suspects used a stolen car as their getaway vehicle and grabbed the purse from a 43-year-old Grand Rapids woman while she was loading groceries into her car. That was in the Sam's Club parking lot along Alpine Avenue.
Police say she fell during the struggle and suffered minor injuries.
The KCSO says a half-hour later, her credit card was used by the bandits at the Algoma Township Meijer. The thieves then went to the gas station out front, and a masked suspect opened a 50-year-old Rockford woman's car door and stole her purse.
Wyoming Police later tried to conduct a traffic stop on the suspects' vehicle outside a Wyoming restaurant, but deputies say it rammed the police car and the 16-year-old ran from the vehicle. The stolen car was later recovered in Grand Rapids. A 20-year-old suspect from Grand Rapids was eventually arrested on unrelated charges.
Here are more specifics from the KCSO news release:
An observant KCSO detective overheard the broadcast of the suspect vehicle and located it along US131 in the s-curve. The detective coordinated efforts with area law enforcement and the Wyoming Department of Public Safety conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle after it pulled into a restaurant in Wyoming. In attempts to flee, the suspect vehicle rammed the detective's car and one suspect ran from the vehicle. He was apprehended shortly thereafter. The stolen vehicle was able to get away but was later recovered unoccupied in the City of Grand Rapids.
A 16-year-old Wyoming male was arrested after running from the car and is lodged at Kent County Juvenile Detection in connection with the robberies. Through investigative leads, another suspect was developed and a 20-year-old male from Grand Rapids was arrested on unrelated charges, but investigators are working to tie the case together. It is believed four total suspects were involved, leaving possibly two suspects outstanding at this time.
KCSO investigators are continuing to work the case today and anyone with information to help move the case forward is encouraged to contact the KCSO. Law enforcement agencies have seen a rash of purse snatchings before in Kent County. Typically, teenage male suspects have traveled together in stolen vehicles, wearing hoods over their heads along with masks, and drive through parking lots looking for victims. If you see suspicious activity occurring like this in parking lots call the police.
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