Deputies investigating brutal purse snatching in Hacienda Heights
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is looking into a brutal purse snatching in Hacienda Heights after former Sheriff Alex Villanueva posted a video of the attack.
The video shows a man dragging a 75-year-old woman across a parking lot as she desperately tries to hold onto her purse. After dragging the woman across the hot asphalt for several yards, the man finally broke her grasp and ran away as bystanders came to the woman's aid.
Investigators said the woman was getting money out of the ATM at around 11 a.m. when the robber approached her.
"This is scary folks," Villanueva tweeted with the video. "A robbery yesterday at the B of A parking lot on Azusa Ave in Hacienda Heights, interrupted by good samaritans!"
Villanueva also criticized L.A. County Supervisors Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis as well as "all the social justice workers," asking them "how's that 'reimagining' working out?"
"The brutality and heartlessness of the perpetrator in the video is shocking," Hahn said in a statement. "I spoke with Sheriff Robert Luna this morning and am confident that he and his department are doing everything they can to bring this person into custody. When I represented the area, I ordered the installation of 44 license plate reading cameras across Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights and I am hopeful that those cameras can assist our Sheriff's Department in solving this crime."
Solis shared a similar statement but added that her office was working to provide mental health support, as well as other help, to the victim.
"Outside noise that does nothing, but create fear, is an ineffective attempt to distract those who are involved—those whom the voters supported to be in office—from doing their jobs," Solis said in a statement. "Additionally, criticizing local public safety measures that were overwhelmingly approved by LA County voters and recently backed by the Court—the same voters who replaced the former sheriff with our current one—is a show of poor judgment and leadership."
The sheriff's department said their Major Crimes Bureau is investigating the incident and have pledged resources to quickly resolve the situation.
