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Police Arrest Pair After 77-Year-Old Is Assaulted During Walmart Purse Snatching

ROCKWALL (CBSDFW.COM) - Frightening moments on December 21 as two men pulled a 77-year-old woman to the ground as they snatched her purse inside a North Texas Walmart grocery store.

Police say it was just after sunset when the suspects entered the front doors of the store and walked up behind the elderly victim.

As the woman walked in with her shopping cart, and appeared to reach for a disinfecting wipe, one of the men grabbed her purse and pulled her and the basket to the ground as the pair ran away.

After racing from the store in a Ford Focus sedan, the suspects quickly began using the credit cards stolen from the purse at various stores in Garland.

David Heffner and Jessie James Caston Jr.
Mugshots of David E. Heffner (L) and Jessie James Caston Jr. (credit: Rockwall Police Department)

An alert was put out for the vehicle and a Rockwall police officer spotted it at another Walmart at Broadway Boulevard and Interstate-30. The driver of the car lead police on a short chase, but eventually pulled over and the two people inside were arrested.

The suspects -- 34 year old David Heffner and 29 year old Jessie James Caston Jr. -- have both been charged with aggravated robbery from an elderly person and are being held at the Rockwall County Detention Center on $100,000 bond.

The elderly victim was treated for her injuries at a local hospital.

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