Park Forest, IL—(ENEWSPF)— A woman fought off a 16 year-old juvenile near the front entrance of Walgreens last week who allegedly tried to take her purse. According to police, the juvenile approached the woman from behind and grabbed her purse, but she held on. A struggle ensued, with the subject pulling the woman by her purse through the parking lot towards the northeast corner of the building, according to police. As she struggled, the juvenile pulled her to the ground. She held on to her purse and pulled the juvenile to the ground. At this point, the subject got up and ran.
The woman told police that during the struggle, she was continually staring at the subject’s hands to make sure he was not wielding any sort of a weapon.
The juvenile was located by Det. DeVries near the baseball field at Rich East High School, approximately one block from where the incident occurred. When Det. DeVries identified himself as a police officer, the juvenile allegedly turned around, said, “Oh sh*t,” and ran, according to police. Det. DeVries pursued him on foot, while Detectives Baugh and Beilke pursued him in an unmarked police vehicle with emergency lights activated.
The juvenile ran approximately 100 yards before he was placed into custody by detectives. He was charged with robbery pending a further review by the detective division.
