A woman accused of snatching two purses in less than five minutes was arrested on robbery charges, Elgin police reported.
The woman, identified as Joyce R. Williams, 24, 1009 St. Charles St., Elgin, was arrested Wednesday morning, shortly after the purse snatchings, after police found her hiding in a closet of her home. The woman allegedly knocked a 48-year-old woman to the ground and grabbed her purse from a shopping cart at Eagle Foods, 925 N. Liberty St.
The store manager and a customer forced the suspect to drop the purse as they attempted to stop her, police reported. Minutes later, a 76-year-old Elgin woman waiting for a bus at Liberty and Addison street was knocked to the ground and robbed of her purse by the same woman, police said. Neither robbery victim was injured, according to police.
The suspect fled in a light-blue car. Investigators said they were able to track her to her home after witnesses provided them with a description of her car and a license plate number. All of the property taken in the two robberies was recovered.
