A 35-year-old man is facing theft charges after allegedly snatching an elderly woman’s purse as she was leaving a bank in Saanich on Tuesday morning.
Police say the incident happened when the 81-year-old victim was exiting a bank in the 800-block of Vernon Avenue at about 11:30 a.m. The woman told police she was returning to her car when she was called over by a man in another vehicle for directions.
When she approached the driver’s side window of the car and started to point in the direction the man was asking to go, the suspect reached out the window and grabbed her purse; which she was holding in her hand.
After grabbing the purse, the man sped off in his vehicle and the 81-year-old attempted to chase the car.
The victim spoke to police and a witness came forward with the licence plate of the vehicle. A few hours later the RCMP found the car and the suspect was arrested and taken to jail.
The 35-year-old suspect is a south Vancouver Island resident and is facing one count of theft under $5,000 and one count of unauthorized use of a credit card.
He is scheduled to appear in court in mid-October.
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