A Gwinnett County man is in jail after allegedly snatching a woman’s purse while she waited in line at a local Walmart — and leaving his shoes behind in the process.
Gwinnett County police spokeswoman Cpl. Michele Pihera said the victim was in a checkout line at the Walmart store at 4975 Jimmy Carter Blvd. on Thursday evening when a man grabbed her purse and ran toward the exit. The woman yelled and two men chased the suspect, later identified as 25-year-old John Samuel Simmonds, into the parking lot.
“While the suspect was running out of the store,” Pihera said, “both of his shoes came off.”
Simmonds fled in a black BMW, the license plate of which one of the witnesses relayed to police, Pihera said. Authorities pulled the vehicle over a short distance away, and witnesses identified Simmonds as the alleged purse snatcher.
Authorities said Simmonds confessed to throwing the victim’s purse out of the vehicle’s window. The purse was recovered and still had “most of” the victim’s personal belongings were still inside, Pihera said.
Simmonds was arrested and charged with robbery by sudden snatching.
His shoes were collected from Walmart and placed into evidence.
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