Police nab accused purse-snatcher
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A suspect trying to get away from police was caught on camera weaving through the streets of Daytona Beach before ditching the car and running.
Investigators say they were trying to stop the vehicle, because it was involved in a purse snatching that happened earlier in the day Wednesday outside Halifax Hospital on N. Clyde Morris Blvd.
A woman told police she was walking toward the building when it happened.
"As I was walking, I heard the guy get out and walk behind me and he said something and I turned around and he started asking me a question and I kept walking and he grabbed my purse,” the victim told a 911 dispatcher.
One man who saw it happen says he decided to go after the suspect.
“I started running toward him and I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do what I caught him – I figured I’d tackle him or something,” said Michael Masters. “I was able to jump in front of him and I put my arms out – like, ‘okay you gotta get around me.’ At that point, he reached in like he had a weapon and started screaming obscenities and said he was going to kill me.”
Masters says the suspect then jumped into a car and took off. But he memorized the license plate and passed that information on to the police.
The car was later spotted by an officer. Video captured by a helicopter following the vehicle shows one man bailing. The car then continues on. Then another person gets out of the car and runs.
Police say that second person ended up giving up. They arrested 24-year-old Devante Harris and say that he confessed to stealing the purse.