Police beat

Power cut, woman attacked in home

A man claiming to be a maintenance worker forced his way into a woman's west Little Rock apartment shortly after her power went off, the victim told police.

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The victim, a 76-year-old woman, told an officer that someone arrived at her door around 9:50 p.m. Monday claiming to be a maintenance worker at her apartment complex, The Bentley, in the 2000 block of Green Mountain Drive.

The power had gone off just before the man's arrival, she said. Officers later determined that the power was turned off at the breaker box.

After the woman opened the door, the assailant forced his way inside and started to rip off her shirt, at which point the victim fought back, according to a Little Rock Police Department report.

Both fell to the floor and the victim "raked her fingers across [the attacker's] eyes," the report states.

The assailant then ran away, heading east, the officer noted.

Authorities described the man as black, between 30 and 40 years old, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and 140 pounds.

He wore a hoodie and dark pants at the time of the assault.

No items were listed as stolen from the apartment, though two window screens had been pulled off, the report states.

Purse-thief pursuer: 'Didn't even think'

After a robber made off with an 81-year-old woman's purse outside a west Little Rock store Monday afternoon, a man who witnessed the crime chased after the assailant and recovered her property, police said.

The victim told investigators that she was stopped by a man around 2:30 p.m. at a store at 301 S. Bowman Road, a shopping center between West Markham Street and Chenal Parkway.

The woman said the robber "stepped between her and the business door," told her she couldn't go inside and then yanked her purse away, according to a Little Rock Police Department report.

Chris Eads, 32, of Little Rock chased after the robber as he ran north on Bowman Road, the report said. A short time later, the assailant tossed the purse into traffic, where Eads recovered it and returned it to the victim, the report said.

Eads said Tuesday that he and his fiancee had just gone into Tuesday Morning when he saw the robber, who he had noticed on the way in, take the purse.

"I didn't really even think," he said. "I just took off running."

Eads estimated he was 15 to 20 feet behind and yelling when the thief ditched the purse. He stopped chasing then and picked up the purse.

Eads said the victim was rattled but "very, very thankful" when her purse was returned. The robber, who was not found by officers in a search, didn't get anything from the purse before he dropped it.

But Eads' iPhone 7 fell from his pocket during the pursuit. He got it back with a shattered screen that he said cost $160 to replace.

"That was the only real casualty," he said.

Eads' fiancee wasn't thrilled he didn't think about his own safety before taking off, Eads said, and the police at the scene told him it wasn't "the smartest decision."

"I've always wondered what I would do" in that type of situation, Eads said. "It's just weird because I didn't think about it. After thinking about it, I've never been in a fight in my entire life. What if that guy turned around and came back at me? Or it's scary to think about if he had a gun or a knife."

Robbed at gunpoint, woodchopper says

A 63-year-old Little Rock man who was chopping wood outside his home Saturday afternoon was robbed at gunpoint by two men, police said.

The victim said it happened about 12:30 p.m. when he was behind his house in the 1700 block of South Summit Street, according to a Little Rock Police Department report.

The robbers approached, pointed a gun and removed the victim's wallet from his pants. They then fled north to 16th Street, where they turned west, the report said.

The robbers were said to be black, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed around 150 pounds. One wore bluejeans and a black hoodie and the other wore jeans and a red sweater.

The report did not list any arrests.

Gunman walks up, robs Waffle House

A man armed with a large pistol forced two Little Rock Waffle House employees inside the restaurant, which he then robbed, authorities said.

It happened shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday at the restaurant at 3202 Bankhead Drive, which is just south of Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field, police said.

The workers told investigators that they were outside smoking when the robber approached on foot and pulled up his red hooded sweatshirt to reveal the gun, according to a Little Rock Police Department report.

"Y'all go inside," the report quoted the gunman as saying. "You know what this is."

The robber then followed the two workers inside. One gave him the money from the register while the other gave him a Coke in an "attempt to keep him calm," the report said.

The assailant then walked north from the restaurant. He was described as black, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and around 160 pounds. No arrests have been made, and no injuries were reported.

Metro on 04/26/2017

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