Would-be thief gives up after woman, 89, holds onto purse

An 89-year-old woman fought off a would-be thief outside a supermarket in Stanton, refusing to let go of her purse until the robber gave up and rode away on a bicycle, an Orange County sheriff’s spokesman said Thursday.

The woman was accosted Aug. 6 outside the Super King market in the 10500 block of Magnolia Avenue, the scene of eight purse thefts since June, said sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino.

In an interview, the woman said her instincts took over when the man tried to snatch her purse as she loaded groceries into her car.

“He couldn’t get it because I had it close to my body and I had the strap way up over my elbow. When he pulled it, he hurt my arm. He couldn’t get it off my arm,” said the woman, who asked that she be identified only by her first name, Sophia, because she feared for her safety.

Sophia said she’d recently been to the bank and was carrying credit cards and $125 in cash.

“What could I do? It was just my instinct. It was frightening. If you ever had that happened to you, it’s a terrible thing, an invasion of your property,” she said. “I was just frightened. I was in trauma.”

A Boston native, Sophia has lived in Garden Grove for more than 50 years. She said she’s strong for her age and paints for a hobby. She recently sold one painting for $1,000, she said.

Sophia is about 5 feet 1 and 140 pounds. She said her assailant was much heavier than she.

“I don’t know how [she] could fight this guy off. He’s very big and husky,” Amormino said.

Sophia’s only regret is that she wasn’t able to get a good look at her assailant.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t see his face,” she said.

Two days after the attempted theft, undercover sheriff’s deputies arrested a 22-year-old man on suspicion of trying to steal the purse of another woman, Amormino said.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Michael Salgado Hernandez was responsible for any of the previous thefts, Amormino said.

Among those on the arrest team was Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Cullen. “This woman comes from the old school. She believes in the American way. She’s a strong woman and she’s not willing to let someone take something that belongs to her,” Cullen said. “She knew it was dangerous, but she’s proud, and she doesn’t want to be a victim of a crime. She’d make a great cop. She reminds me a lot of my grandmother.”

Widowed 20 years ago, Sophia lives alone.

“I’m not afraid. I think I’m protected and I just love the policemen in Garden Grove [and] the Sheriff’s Department,” she said.

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stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com