Another purse almost snatched

An ankle monitor cleared parolee Justin Tyson of a strong-armed robbery in downtown Manhattan Beach after MBPD arrested him earlier this month. Photo courtesy of MBPD

For the third time this month, police last week responded to an attempted strong-arm robbery on downtown Manhattan streets.

Manhattan Beach Police are still searching for the suspect(s) responsible for two downtown purse snatchings that occurred four days apart earlier this month.

“The incidents don’t seem to be connected, but we don’t know,” said Manhattan Beach Police Department Crime Prevention Officer Stephanie Martin. “The times at which they occurred were different. The other two were late at night. This one was in the morning. There were two people involved in this incident, whereas the others involved only one suspect.”

Last Wednesday at roughly 8:30 a.m., two men approached a woman stepping off of a bus near the intersection of 14th Street and Highland Avenue before one of them unsuccessfully attempted to snatch her purse from her arm.

“There was a conversation that took place between one of the suspects and the woman,” said Martin, who did not disclose details of what was said. “The one that was speaking to her grabbed her purse and tried to pull it toward him, but she was able to pull back and run off.”

Unlike the victims of the two earlier incidents, the victim, a 48-year-old L.A. woman who works in Manhattan Beach, managed to hold on to her purse before calling police.

Police described the suspect who attempted to take the purse as a white male with straight blonde hair, age 20-25, 5 ft. 8 in., 130 lbs. with a thin build, clean-shaven and last seen wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt. His accomplice is described as a white male with straight blonde hair, age 20-25 with a thin build and last seen wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt.

Two weeks ago, an electronic ankle monitor cleared Justin Tyson — a parolee from Fontana — of committing a June 6 street robbery, but landed him in jail anyway when he was found to be in violation of his parole.

“The ankle bracelet verified that Tyson was in Manhattan Beach, but wasn’t at the location of the robbery,” said Officer Martin. “But it turned out he was outside the area he’s allowed to travel within, due to his parole.”

The MBPD arrested Tyson, 29, minutes after a Manhattan woman’s purse was stolen off her arm at roughly 1 a.m. near the intersection of Highland Avenue and Ninth Street. The victim said a man had approached her on the sidewalk and asked for a cigarette, then grabbed her purse and fled.

Martin said that Tyson, a black male, was arrested several minutes later a half-mile from the scene, based on the victim’s description of the suspect as a male of mixed race, 25 to 30 years old with a thin build and wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt and jeans. No property was recovered at the time of Tyson’s arrest.

Immediately after the arrest, two witnesses, including the victim, independently identified Tyson as the man responsible for the robbery, according to police. One witness claimed to have seen the suspect flee the scene of the crime, Martin said.

But a court-issued GPS ankle monitor Tyson wears as a condition of his parole placed him away from the scene of the crime.

“Oftentimes, people say a person is involved in a crime, but it happened so quickly, they don’t really know,” Martin said. “It is not uncommon for a witness to give a description that does not match the same characteristics or ethnicity or race of the person found to be responsible.”

Tyson remains in custody on a parole violation, according to police, since the monitor placed him outside the 50-mile radius within he is allowed to travel.

Police are also still searching for the person responsible for a June 2 purse snatching incident, during which the robber simulated having a handgun, according to Martin. Authorities described the suspect as a white male, 25 to 30 years old, 5 ft. 6 in. to 6 ft. tall, and 140 to 170 lbs. He was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and white shorts.

No suspects are in custody for either incident at this time.

Anyone with information regarding any of these incidents should contact Officer Martin at (310) 802-5186 or MBPD Detective Sgt. Brian Brown at (310) 802-5123. ER

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