Jan
2
On 12/19/07 at 8:00 p.m. a 25-year-old woman parked her vehicle in the 1200 block of De La Vina Street, walked downtown, and met up with some friends. That evening (12/20/07), at 2:00 a.m. the woman, after an evening socializing at a two downtown locations, was walking back to her vehicle. When less than one-quarter block from the safety of her parked vehicle, the woman sensed movement from behind a large palm tree in the parkway. Suddenly, a man jumped out at her and clasped her throat tightly in his hand. Petrified, the woman stood in his grasp for several seconds. She lifted her arm in front of her, unconsciously offering her purse in exchange for her safety. The suspect took the offered prize and fled on foot.
Meanwhile, two men ages 23 and 24 were driving down De La Vina Street. They didn?t see the street robbery but did see the suspect flee with a purse. They remarked out loud that this looked just like a purse snatch. The victim, who suddenly remembered that her entire Christmas shopping fund of $600 cash was in the purse, desperately ran in the street after the suspect. She saw the witnesses? vehicle, banged on the hood, and pleaded for help. The witnesses jumped out and gave chase. They caught up to the suspect, who threw the purse down and tried hiding in some bushes. The witnesses, unsure of exactly what to do, returned the purse to the victim. The victim, equally out of her element, jumped in her vehicle and drove away, leaving only her first name as a clue to her identity. The suspect, who was more sure of what to do, fled the area. The witnesses, who happened to live nearby, returned to their residence to talk about the incident.
The suspect, possibly deciding to waylay another victim, returned to the area and loitered in the shadows. The witnesses noticed him, recognized him as the suspect, and called police. Police officers contacted the suspect, the witnesses, but not the victim because she left the area. At the crime scene police found a broken strand of pink pearls, apparently dropped unnoticed by the victim. Detective Jaycee Hunter investigated the case. Even without the victim being contacted or identified, he developed enough information to arrest the suspect, Noe Cortez Gonzalez, age 18, for robbery. His work not done, Detective Hunter used the scant victim information and managed to track down and contact the victim. She provided a statement and identified the pink pearls as her own. Noe Cortez Gonzales remains in custody on a charge of robbery, on $50,000 bail.
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