NORTON SHORES, Mich. (March 21, 2014) — Police are questioning a suspect after a woman suffered severe head injuries when she was dragged by a car a short distance in a Meijer parking lot by a man stealing her purse.
The Norton Shores Police Department is seeking public help in catching the thief and released a surveillance video of the incident.
The woman was loading up her vehicle when someone drove up in a silver Pontiac G6, reached out from the car, and grabbed her purse. She can be seen in the video being dragged as she tried to stop the thief. She let gowhen she was dragged into another parked vehicle, said police.
People nearby cared for and comforted the woman until emergency personnel arrived. She was taken to the Hackley Campus of Mercy Health.
The thief was only described as a black male.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Friday, Norton Shores police announced that they had identified a suspect and a vehicle in the case.
Police said that at 6 p.m. Friday, after numerous hours of investigation, detectives identified the suspect and vehicle involved in not only the Meijer robbery but also an unarmed robbery at 12:25 a.m. Friday at the Shell station at 1470 Apple in Muskegon.
Police said that at 8:30 p.m. Friday, investigators from the Norton Shores and Muskegon police departments plus the West Michigan Enforcement team executed a search warrant at a residence in the 500 block of Adams Street in Muskegon. During the search, they located the suspected driver — a 45-year-old Muskegon man who was taken into custody.
Police also said that a Good Samaritan located and returned the victim’s purse.
If you have any information, call the Norton Shores Police Department at (231) 733-2691 or contact Silent Observer anonymously at 231-73-CRIME.
