San Diego

Eighty-three-year-old Mabel Johnston must have appeared an easy mark as she walked down the 2800 block of University Avenue in North Park carrying an oversized pocketbook Monday afternoon.

But the irrepressible woman hung tightly to her pocketbook strap as a would-be robber followed her, then threw her against a building and to the ground in an attempt to grab her bag, Police Department spokesman Bill Robinson said.

“I didn’t want him to take my money,” Johnston said Tuesday. “He said he had a knife, but I didn’t see one.”

William Calhoun, 31, was sitting in his car when he heard Johnston’s screams, Robinson said. Calhoun chased the man, identified as Edward M. Gonzales, 40, of San Diego, across the street and grabbed him.

Gonzales punched Calhoun and tried to escape, but two more men, Thomas Taylor, 35, and Isom Townsend, 39, helped Calhoun restrain the man until police arrived.

Gonzales was booked into San Diego County Jail on suspicion of attempted robbery. His bail was set at $15,000 pending an arraignment in Superior Court today.

Johnston, who said she struck her head on the building or the sidewalk, refused medical attention at the scene.

“I just don’t want anyone to take something that belongs to me,” Johnston said. “But I won’t carry my big pocketbook again, that’s for sure.”