Alleged purse-snatcher arrested at Palm Springs motel
A 27-year-old man from Bombay Beach was arrested in Palm Springs early Saturday morning after allegedly stealing a woman’s purse by overpowering her.
The robbery was reported near Ramon Road and Calle El Segundo. The Palm Springs Police Department was called around 3:40 a.m.
The woman told police she was walking in the area when the man approached her and tried to grab her purse. The suspect hit the woman and overpowered her before making off with the purse.
The victim told police the man ran to a nearby white Chevrolet Suburban and fled the area.
About 30 minutes later, a sergeant with P.S.P.D. spotted a vehicle matching the description in a motel parking lot in the 63000 block of 20th Avenue. Officers found Michael Anthony Johnson with the stolen purse in a motel room.
Johnson was arrested for robbery, providing a false name to police, and for violating probation. He was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
If you have any information about the robbery, you’re asked to call the Palm Springs Police Department at 760-323-8116 or Valley Crime Stoppers at 760-341-7867.
