A man wrestled a pocketbook out of a 75-year-old woman’s hands in Northeast Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.
Now authorities are releasing surveillance video of the incident, hoping to catch him.
The incident occurred April 7, when the woman was walking to a medical office on the 2800 block of Cottman Avenue. As she approached the rear entrance of the building at 3:10 p.m., the man called out from behind and asked where a certain street was located.
When she turned and told him she didn’t know that street, he walked up to her and grabbed the shoulder strap of her pocketbook from her left shoulder. She tried to hold on to it, but he kept pulling on the strap until he took it from her, pulling her down to the ground.
The victim received minor injuries in the scuffle. The thief fled on foot to Revere Street.
The brown leather pocketbook contained her wallet, $60 in cash, various credit cards, identification and keys.
The thief is described as white, 25 to 30 years old, about 5-foot 6-inches tall, 160 to 175 pounds, wearing a brown baseball cap with a logo on the front, blue jeans, white sneakers, and a grey/orange/white hooded nylon windbreaker jacket.
He’s seen driving a dark red sedan, possibly a late 1990s Ford or Mercury sedan with a sun roof.
If you have information, you can call Northeast Detectives at (215) 686-3153 or (215) 686-3154, and ask for Det. Cawley at #9022.
You can view the video here.
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