ALPINE/ALGOMA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Two people are in custody after a pair of purse snatchings in Kent County.
The first happened Thursday afternoon in the parking lot of a Sam’s Club in Alpine Township, according to the Kent County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO).
We’re told multiple suspects were in a stolen vehicle when they stole a purse from a 43-year-old Grand Rapids woman. She fell and sustained minor injuries.
A credit card in her name was used at a Meijer in Algoma Township less than 30 minutes later, deputies say. The suspects exited the store and made their way to a nearby gas station where a masked individual snatched a purse from a 50-year-old Rockford woman’s car.
KCSO says a deputy found the suspect vehicle on the S-curve on US-131, after which they and the Wyoming Department of Public Safety executed a traffic stop outside a Wyoming restaurant. The vehicle hit a detective’s cruiser and one of the suspects ran off. The 16-year-old male suspect from Wyoming was detained a short while later.
The suspect vehicle eluded authorities but was found unoccupied in Grand Rapids, according to the sheriff’s office.
We’re told a 20-year-old Grand Rapids man was taken into custody for unrelated offenses. Authorities are investigating his possible connection to the robberies.
Two other possible suspects remain at large.
Those with information related to the case are urged to call KCSO. Dial 911 if you witness suspicious behavior taking place in parking lots.
The county has witnessed a multitude of purse snatchings in recent memory.
READ MORE: 7 teens arrested in connection to Kent Co. purse snatchings
