KING COUNTY, Wash. — Thong Sinnapone’s story is one we’ve heard before in recent months – her purse snatched by a stranger from behind.
“I went to open the door,” said Sinnapone, who was on her doorstep. “Then they snatch.”
>>KIRO 7's past coverage of purse thefts
Dozens of women have had their purses stolen or snatched – some more brutal than others – since the beginning of the year in Pierce and King Counties, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.
Surveillance video last month showed a grandmother in South Seattle being violently robbed of her bag and jewelry by a man who pried rings off her fingers, leaving bruises on her body. She told KIRO 7 in an interview then that she believed she had been followed home.
Police said that suspect was later arrested following a chase.
Home security video from Saturday afternoon on 67th Place South in Skyway shows someone getting out of a car -- moments later that person is seen on video running away to the waiting car as Sinnapone chased and screamed for help.
“Quick and fast,” said Sinnapone, who wasn’t hurt. “I lost everything.”
King County sheriff’s deputies are investigating and told KIRO 7 they believe she was followed home. Sinnapone, who had been out running errands, said she was not able to get a good look at the person’s face.
Deputies say the suspects in the recent purse snatchings in store parking lots, like Costco, are mostly juveniles using stolen rental cars.
Kent police told KIRO 7 that detectives believe a juvenile, possibly involved in the recent parking lot purse snatchings, is the shooter seen on home security video opening fire on a stranger near Springwood Park in an attempted carjacking earlier this month. The victim managed to escape the gunfire and wasn't shot.
Deputies said it didn’t immediately appear that the person who targeted Sinnapone is connected to the store parking lot cases.
Cox Media Group
