The victim of a purse snatching and two Good Samaritans chased down the suspect, who hid behind shrubbery at Tanger Outlets, while other witnesses called 911 Saturday afternoon, according to a Riverhead Police report. Police officers quickly arrived and located the suspect, who now faces a felony robbery charge, police said in a press release issued Sunday.
The victim reported that an unknown man wearing a ski mask reached into the open rear window of a vehicle parked in a Tanger 2 lot where she was resting while her friends shopped, and attempted to remove her purse. The man held the woman down while trying to remove her purse and a struggle ensued, in which the woman sustained minor injuries, police said. He was able to remove the purse, which contained the woman’s debit card, and fled on foot eastbound toward the wooded area between Tanger 2 and Tanger 3, according to the report.
The woman, 44, exited the vehicle and chased after the suspect, while screaming and alerting others in the area that she had just been robbed, police said. Two Good Samaritans joined the victim in her chase and others called 911 to report the robbery and that the suspect was hiding behind a bush in the area of the Tanger 3 parking lot near the wooded area between Tanger 3 and Tanger 2, police said.
Responding patrol officers were able to immediately locate and detain the suspect, whom police identified as Shawn Collins, 35, according to the report. Collins is undomiciled but known to frequent the Riverhead area, police said. Police said they found Collins in possession of a black ski mask and the purse and debit card taken from the victim.
Riverhead Police said Suffolk County probation officers responded to the scene, reporting that they were alerted when Collins removed the GPS ankle bracelet he had been ordered by a court to wear as a condition of release in a prior case, and discarded it into the wooded area between Tanger 2 and Tanger 3.
Riverhead Police detectives and a Riverhead Police Department K-9 unit responded to investigate and the K9 unit was able to locate evidence related to the robbery as well as the discarded GPS ankle bracelet, the report said.
Collins was subsequently arrested, transported to the Riverhead Police Department where he was processed on a charge of Robbery in the Third Degree under NYS Penal Law §160.05, a Class D Felony, and held for arraignment, police said.
The investigation remains ongoing, police said. Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has information pertaining to the investigation is asked to contact the Riverhead Police Department Detective Division at (631) 727-4500. All calls will be kept confidential, police said.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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