LITTLE ROCK — Man, 23, arrested in purse-snatching
A 23-year-old Sherwood man was arrested Wednesday in Mayflower in a Sept. 13 purse-snatching in Little Rock, Little Rock police said.
Branten Lavell Smith, 23, of 3610 E. Maryland Ave. faces one count of robbery, police said. He is accused of stealing a purse from Nancy Martinsen, 56, of Little Rock while she was walking on Kavanaugh Boulevard, police said.
Martinsen told police she was walking with a friend in the 2700 block of Kavanaugh shortly after 6 p.m. when she saw a man approaching. She moved over to allow him to walk past her, but instead he walked between her and her friend. At that point, the man knocked her down, said he needed her purse and pulled it off her arm. The man then got into a waiting vehicle, which sped west on Kavanaugh.
Neighborly watch leads to 2 arrests
Two men were arrested after a neighbor spotted the pair breaking into a Walnut Valley home Wednesday morning, Little Rock police said.
Michael Smith, 33, of 418 Mesa Drive, and Nikko Daniels, 20, of 8604 Labette Drive each face burglary and theft charges in the burglary of a home at 11110 Beverly Hills Drive. Smith also is charged with fleeing andresisting arrest.
The neighbor told officers she saw a suspicious vehicle outside the house and two men tampering with a window on the house. When officers arrived, both men fled.
Smith was arrested at 301 N. Shackleford Road. Neighbors then spotted Daniels emerging from his hiding place on Beverly Hills Drive and officers quickly arrested him. Money and jewelry taken in the burglary were recovered, police said.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 09/23/2010