Woman Robbed of Purse in Broad Daylight on North Ave.

A woman was pulled to the ground by a robber who yanked her purse away as she fell to the pavement just before noon on busy North Avenue in front of a number of witnesses.

At 11:45 a.m. May 28, police were called by a witness to Ted's Ice Cream and Restaurant, 6204 W. North Ave., on a report of a strong-arm robbery.

When the first officer arrived, he found the victim being attended for an injury by Fire Department paramedics. He first interviewed a witness who had been driving east on North Avenue and saw the struggle in front of her.

That woman said she saw the victim fall and a man run to a waiting car facing west. She surmised it was a robbery and took the license number of the fleeing car – which would prove to have been stolen that morning in Milwaukee.

The woman stopped and followed the victim into Ted's to help and to await police with her information.

Another witness flagged the officer and said he was an employee of Fast Track Oil Change across the street and had noticed the commotion and seen the robber jump into the getaway car with the victim chasing him.

Fast Track would also provide surveillance video of the crime, which showed the robbers had actually stopped their car in the traffic lane to commit the purse-snatching. The video unfortunately was not of enough clarity to identify the robber or his driver.

The victim, who suffered a laceration to her hand but did not require hospitalization, told police she was just getting into her car when a man who appeared behind her addressed her as "Ma'am" and then grabbed hold of her purse.

She fought to hold on, but the robber pulled harder and she fell to the pavement. Her assailant wrenched her purse away and ran to the waiting car. 

The victim told officers she thought she would be able to recognize the robber if she saw him again. She described him as black, 18 to 22 years old, 5-feet-8 with a medium build, light brown complexion and curled hair.

The victim lost her Coach purse worth about $200, around $40 in cash and several credit cards, which she quickly cancelled.