Man chases down purse snatched from woman in Burbank

A witness chased down and was able to retrieve a purse ripped from a 74-year-old woman Saturday as she left a Walgreens in Burbank.

The woman was confronted by a man in dark shorts who snatched her purse on San Fernando Boulevard and fled toward Spazier Avenue, Burbank police said.

A witness proceeded to chase after the suspect, who was described as a bald, 20- to 30-year-old white or Latino man, up the street and yelled for him to drop the purse, said Burbank police Sgt. Darin Ryburn.

Soon after, the suspect dropped the purse and continued running.

The witness retrieved the purse for the woman, who was uninjured and discovered nothing missing.

The suspect remains at large.

While Ryburn did not suggest civilian intervention in those types of situations, he commended the witness for retrieving the woman’s property.

“It saves her from canceling credit cards, the loss of cash,” he said. “He was glad he could help.”

He recommended pedestrians and shoppers limit the amount of property they carry in their purses or backpacks. If possible, he suggested consolidating the property into a smaller bag or clutch that’ll always be in their hands.

“That goes for everybody,” he said.

-- Alene Tchekmedyian, Times Community News

Follow Alene Tchekmedyian on Google+ and on Twitter: @atchek