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Bystanders Tackle Suspected Purse Snatcher Who Targeted Stockton Senior

STOCKTON (CBS13) — An elderly woman was robbed and thrown to the ground at a Stockton shopping mall by a man intent on getting away with it, but that's not where the story ends. Good Samaritans, including a UPS driver, saw the incident, stepped in, and chased the man down so police could arrest him.

An eyewitness said the 84-year-old woman was walking in a shopping area on her way to get her nails done when the suspect came from behind and grabbed her purse. The force of being pulled threw her to the ground and caused her to hit her head on the concrete.

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"She hits the ground and it was a loud sound like almost a car hit," said Penny Mims, the Good Samaritan who helped the woman.

Mims saw it all happen and was one of the first to help.

"Yelled at him 'why did you do that?' And then I had the UPS guy delivering packages in the back, he heard me scream, he come running out," she said.

Stockton police said the UPS driver and some security guards chased the suspect down and tackled him so police could make an arrest.

"We're very fortunate that we did have those good Samaritans in that area who decided to get involved, because if a guy could do this to an 84-year-old woman, what else was he capable of doing?" said Stockton Police Department Ofc. Joe Silva.

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Police said the suspect is 30-year-old Brandon Murray. He's facing multiple charges for robbery, elder abuse, and resisting arrest. Mims said she's glad she was there to comfort the victim.

"She kept saying did you get my purse? Did you get my purse? And I said 'I will buy you a purse,'" Mims said.

Mims said instinct told her to rush to this woman's side.

"I'm a Christian, it's my job. I'm supposed to help out where it's needed so the adrenaline was running to make sure she was ok. I think if I could have caught him myself I would have ran and did that also," she said.

The men who tackled the suspect were able to return the victim's purse.

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