Police in Elmwood Park are looking for a man who they say stole a purse from a woman after she placed it in the trunk of her car in the parking lot at the Walgreens store on North Avenue.
Police said an elderly woman had walked from the store, at 7200 North Ave., to her car shortly after 2 p.m. on Feb. 7. She placed the handbag, which contained a wallet that included $300, credit cards and identification cards, into the trunk of the car, according to police.
Police said a man then took the purse while the trunk was still open. According to police, the man went to a car and drove off as the woman ran after him, shouting for him to stop. Someone tried to stop the man by standing in front of the car but was struck by the car as it took off west through the parking lot and then north on 72nd Court.
The person who gave assistance saw the vehicle stop near the 7200 block of Wabansia Avenue and watched the man get out and remove his jacket, police said. When the man saw someone was chasing him, he got back into the car and fled north on Harlem and then east on Bloomingdale Avenue, police said.
The suspect was described as a white man, in his late 20s or early 30s, 5-foot-8 or 5-foot-10 and 220 to 250 pounds, with short dark hair. He was wearing a black leather jacket with an orange stripe across the chest and dark blue jeans. Walgreens employees told police a man matching that description was captured on store surveillance video attempting to return hair products. They told police he subsequently left the store and threw the receipt in the trash can adjacent to the entrance of the store.
The man who was struck by the car refused medical attention, police said.
Deborah Kadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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