|
|
|
Shawnee detectives arrested a Choctaw man Tuesday afternoon in connection with a violent purse snatching that occurred in the Walmart parking lot.
Devin Lynn Carroll, 23, was booked into the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center on a robbery complaint, jail records show. A bond hearing is expected Wednesday. Formal charges have not been filed.
Carroll was arrested after being questioned by Shawnee detectives working the case Tuesday.
Detective Charles Swantek said the purse snatching occurred in the parking lot of Walmart on Jan. 26. The 52-year-old Texas woman visiting Shawnee had walked out of the store with several sacks of groceries and her purse. While walking towards her vehicle that afternoon, she felt someone grab the strap of her purse. The suspect began “yanking violently,” a police report shows, with the action throwing her off her feet and causing her to hit her head on the pavement. The purse snatcher allegedly dragged her around the parking lot until the purse strap broke, reports show, causing the woman to suffer injuries.
The suspect was described as being a white male wearing a striped jacket with the hood pulled over his head. Several witnesses reported what they saw to police and said the suspect got into a black sedan.
As he was fleeing, the suspect allegedly began throwing contents of the woman’s purse out of the vehicle window, the report shows, with witnesses helping collect those items for the woman. The suspect did get away with cash and other items from her purse.
Swantek said surveillance video from inside Walmart as well as the parking lot was obtained, which clearly showed the suspect following the woman to her vehicle. It also shows the suspect knocking her to the ground and dragging her across the parking lot before running eastbound.
Through those surveillance tapes and follow-up investigation, Swantek said they were able to identify Carroll as the suspect they were looking for in this case.
Tuesday, Swantek and Detective Ron Wilson, along with Chad Pope, a special deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service, attempted to make contact with Carroll at his last known address in Choctaw. While en route, Swantek observed someone driving a 1999 black Honda matching the description given by witnesses, with police finding out the vehicle was registered to Carroll.
When that vehicle stopped at a convenience store in the area of Douglas and Reno in Midwest City, the detectives, marshal and Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputies approached Carroll, who was driving. He was brought to the Shawnee Police Department for an interview.
During questioning, Swantek said Carroll confessed to the purse-snatching. He allegedly told authorities he took the purse because he had lost all of his money at a casino in Shawnee. He claimed to have kept $80 from the woman’s purse.
Carroll was being held Tuesday night in the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center on the robbery complaint.
The case will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office for consideration of any formal charges.
Watch for updates.
Shawnee detectives arrested a Choctaw man Tuesday afternoon in connection with a violent purse snatching that occurred in the Walmart parking lot.
Devin Lynn Carroll, 23, was booked into the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center on a robbery complaint, jail records show. A bond hearing is expected Wednesday. Formal charges have not been filed.
Carroll was arrested after being questioned by Shawnee detectives working the case Tuesday.
Detective Charles Swantek said the purse snatching occurred in the parking lot of Walmart on Jan. 26. The 52-year-old Texas woman visiting Shawnee had walked out of the store with several sacks of groceries and her purse. While walking towards her vehicle that afternoon, she felt someone grab the strap of her purse. The suspect began “yanking violently,” a police report shows, with the action throwing her off her feet and causing her to hit her head on the pavement. The purse snatcher allegedly dragged her around the parking lot until the purse strap broke, reports show, causing the woman to suffer injuries.
The suspect was described as being a white male wearing a striped jacket with the hood pulled over his head. Several witnesses reported what they saw to police and said the suspect got into a black sedan.
As he was fleeing, the suspect allegedly began throwing contents of the woman’s purse out of the vehicle window, the report shows, with witnesses helping collect those items for the woman. The suspect did get away with cash and other items from her purse.
Swantek said surveillance video from inside Walmart as well as the parking lot was obtained, which clearly showed the suspect following the woman to her vehicle. It also shows the suspect knocking her to the ground and dragging her across the parking lot before running eastbound.
Through those surveillance tapes and follow-up investigation, Swantek said they were able to identify Carroll as the suspect they were looking for in this case.
Tuesday, Swantek and Detective Ron Wilson, along with Chad Pope, a special deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service, attempted to make contact with Carroll at his last known address in Choctaw. While en route, Swantek observed someone driving a 1999 black Honda matching the description given by witnesses, with police finding out the vehicle was registered to Carroll.
When that vehicle stopped at a convenience store in the area of Douglas and Reno in Midwest City, the detectives, marshal and Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputies approached Carroll, who was driving. He was brought to the Shawnee Police Department for an interview.
During questioning, Swantek said Carroll confessed to the purse-snatching. He allegedly told authorities he took the purse because he had lost all of his money at a casino in Shawnee. He claimed to have kept $80 from the woman’s purse.
Carroll was being held Tuesday night in the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center on the robbery complaint.
The case will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office for consideration of any formal charges.
Watch for updates.
