Police Seek Thieves Who Grabbed Purses of 2 Blind Women

Police in West Los Angeles were searching Friday for purse snatchers who robbed two elderly blind women in separate daytime attacks, dragging one of the victims by her purse strap as the assailants sped away in a car.

“It was about as low as you can get,” said Sgt. Doug Abney, adding that the thieves probably singled out the women because their distinctive red-tipped white canes indicated they were blind.

The first attack occurred Thursday shortly after 1 p.m., when an 86-year-old woman was crossing Westwood Boulevard near Pico Boulevard. A car came by and someone inside grabbed the purse, which contained about $100. The woman resisted and was dragged along the street for a short distance, suffering cuts and bruises on her hands, shoulder and arms, Abney said. The woman, who was not identified, was treated and released from UCLA Medical Center.

Less than two hours later, a 92-year-old woman, sitting on a bus bench at Pico and Robertson boulevards, was approached by thieves who got out of a car and tried to grab her purse. The woman held on to the pocketbook, but one of the suspects grabbed a wallet from inside and made off with $21, Abney said.

“It’s just one more indication of how bad things have gotten in Los Angeles when women this old can’t even walk down the street anymore--blind women, no less,” he said.

Although officers believe there must have been several witnesses to each attack, no one intervened in the robberies and no one has come forward with information that could help identify the assailants, Abney said.