Little Rock police are investigating three purse-snatchings that have occurred in the parking lots of west Little Rock stores since Sunday, according to police reports.
Police responded to the first at 10:35 p.m. Sunday at a Wal-Mart parking lot on 2700 S. Shackleford Road. Veronica Tinajero, 43, and Armida Tinajero, 47, were loading groceries into their car when two black men took their purses. When Veronica Tinajero resisted, the man pushed her to the ground and then fled with the other man in a gray Toyota Camry, according to the report.
A witness chased the men in his car for about 5 miles until one of them threw Veronica Tinajero's purse out the window at 36th and Holt streets. The witness returned the purse, but the contents had been stolen, according to the report.
Four passports, five debit cards, a cellphone and $900 in cash were stolen from the two purses, according to the report. Veronica Tinajero said she was sore but refused medical treatment.
The second robbery occurred at 8:07 p.m. Monday at the Kroger located on 16105 Chenal Parkway, police said. A report states that Kathy Turpin, 45, was returning to her vehicle when she was grabbed from behind by a black man wearing a black and white hoodie. The man slung her to the ground, breaking the strap on her purse, before driving away with a second man in a silver SUV, according to the report.
Three gift cards worth $45, a credit card, a health insurance card and a checkbook were stolen, according to the report. Turpin refused medical treatment.
Police responded to the third call at 9:39 p.m. Monday at Barnes and Noble on 11500 Financial Centre Parkway. Vickie Jackson, 59, told police she was getting into her car when a black man wearing a navy blue hoodie reached in and grabbed her purse. Jackson fell as she attempted to hold on to her purse, and the man dragged her across the ground before taking her purse and fleeing with a second black man in a silver SUV, according to the report.
An iPhone, a debit card and $1,000 in cash were in the purse when it was stolen, according to the report. Jackson refused medical treatment.
It is possible that the robberies at Kroger and Barnes and Noble were committed by the same people, Little Rock Police spokesman Steve McClanahan said.