Suspected purse snatcher in custody

Authorities arrested a 49-year-old woman suspected in a pair of purse-snatchings last week that targeted elderly drivers. Charges have not yet been filed, and one of the incidents is still under investigation, but the woman was taken into custody Tuesday on an arrest warrant when she showed up for an appointment at the Probation and Parole offices in Shawano. According to Shawano police, the woman was on probation for previous offenses of stealing purses. She is a suspect in two purse snatching incidents last week, according to authorities. The first theft was reported on Dec. 16 in the village of Gresham. According to the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department, a female subject approached an 85-year-old woman, who was in her vehicle at the time, and told her that her brake light was not working. When the woman went to the back of the vehicle to check, the female subject stole the woman’s purse from the car, then fled in a vehicle of her own. A similar incident was reported Friday morning in the 1300 block of East Elizabeth Street in the city of Shawano. This time, a 93-year-old woman had just parked her car in her garage, according to the police report, when a female subject pulled up and told her that her tail light was out. The woman thanked her and then went to her mailbox at the side of the road. Meanwhile, the female subject went into the woman’s garage and came out with the woman’s purse. She then got into her car and drove off. Authorities were able to get a license plate number and description of the suspect from the victims. Sheriff Adam Bieber said dispatchers were able to narrow down a suspect from that information. He also said a sheriff’s detective found video evidence and contacted Probation and Parole to place a hold on the woman. Shawano police arrested her when she showed up for her appointment Tuesday. Sheriff’s detectives executed a search warrant on the suspect’s vehicle and turned up a set of keys belonging to the Gresham victim, Bieber said. He also said the woman has signed confessions to both incidents.