Two Cobb County purse-snatching suspects who allegedly targeted elderly women because they would be easy marks were arrested by police after they stopped for gas a short distance from the theft, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Ashley Danielle Beaver, 23, and Patricia Leigh Hanahan, 25, were each charged with robbery in connection with the July 19 incident in the parking lot of a Publix grocery store in Smyrna. The two Marietta women allegedly told police they were cruising in a pickup truck, looking for a victim who wouldn't fight back.
"Specifically, they were looking for an elderly woman who was pushing a shopping cart [with] a purse sitting on top. They were looking for somebody with easy access so they would try to make a clean getaway, if you will," Smyrna police Officer Michael Smith told Channel 2.
The pair spotted an 83-year-old woman in the Publix lot. According to their arrest warrants, Hanahan jumped out of the pickup and grabbed the victim's white leather purse containing a wallet, credit cards, identification and $120 cash. Hanahan then jumped back into the truck driven by Beaver, and they sped away.
But they didn't go far.
About a mile down the road, the pair realized they were low on gas, so they stopped to fill up, Channel 2 reported. Next to them at the pumps was a Smyrna jail officer who also was filling up, and he heard the lookout for their pickup truck over his police radio.
The two women were soon in custody and being booked into Cobb County Jail.
Hanahan was released Sunday on $15,000 bond, jail records showed. Beaver, who also was charged with violation of parole, remained jailed without bond Wednesday.
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