Los Altos police arrested a man for grand theft July 27 after he allegedly stole a woman’s purse downtown.
The victim, a Los Altos Hills resident, was sitting outside Le Boulanger at 301 Main St. when the suspect, a 49-year-old San Jose resident, grabbed her purse, according to Sgt. Steve Spillman.
“He ran off, he dumped the purse behind the businesses in Plaza South (retaining the contents of the purse) and ran off onto San Antonio,” Spillman said.
Police received a call reporting the incident at 11:36 a.m., and the suspect was apprehended “within minutes” by a motorcycle officer who spotted him on San Antonio Road, Spillman said.
The victim identified the suspect, who was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on charges of grand theft.
Police recovered both the victim’s purse and its contents.
“It was so great, because they thought it was, within five minutes, I think,” said GaeAnn Spence, a witness who was across the street at Starbucks when the incident occurred.
After talking with the victim, who was not identified, police dropped her off back at Le Boulanger.
“She got out of the truck and said, ‘They caught him!’ Everyone around Le Boulanger was just cheering for her,” Spence said. “We have to commend our police department for responding and being there.”
