2 Purse Snatchings in 2 Days — Women Robbed as They Arrive Home

Two Piedmont residents had purses stolen last week in separate daytime robberies that occurred just as the women were about to enter their homes, a Piedmont Police Department spokesperson said.

The robberies shared several similarities, although the victims' descriptions of the suspects differed, APD Captain Scott Wyatt said.

In the first incident, a woman had parked on the street and was walking to her home in the 100 block of Estates Drive (near Park Boulevard) about 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, Wyatt said.

The woman noticed a white four-door sedan driving fast toward her, Wyatt said. A man got out of the car and began running toward the woman, he said.

As the woman reached the front steps leading to her home, the man grabbed at her purse, Wyatt said. The woman resisted briefly but then let go of her purse, he said.

The robber escaped in the white sedan, which was driven by a second man, Wyatt said. 

One of the victim's credit cards was used at a gas station on West MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland about an hour later, according to the police report.

The robber was described as a "skinny" black male adult about 6 feet tall. wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. The driver, a black male adult, was also wearing a hoodie.

No weapon was seen during the robbery.

The following day, Wednesday, Nov. 13, a Calvert Court resident arrived home about 12:10 p.m. and parked in her driveway.

As the woman started to retrieve her purse from the back seat of her vehicle, she was attacked by a man who pushed her to the ground and took the purse, Wyatt said.

The man escaped in an older white SUV driven by a second man, witnesses said.

The robber was described as a black male adult with very short hair and a round face, about 5'8" to 5'11" tall, Wyatt said. No weapon was seen during the robbery.

Both robberies remain under investigation.

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