TAYLOR, Mich. (WXYZ) - He sat outside the supermarket waiting for his prey. And when an unassuming shopper walked by, the crook jumped up and attacked her in the parking lot. The woman fought back against the ruthless purse snatcher and ended up in the hospital.
It happened at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, as Cynthia Pacheco was leaving the Seaway Market in Taylor after shopping. Surveillance video shows the suspect seated at the entrance to the store just waiting, police say, for a victim to pass.
As Pacheco wheeled her shopping cart out the door and into the parking lot, the suspect went after her and grabbed her purse from the cart.
Pacheco's daughter Leslie is still horrified at what happened next, as the grandmother of six and great-grandmother of seven tried to go after the suspect to get her purse back. She ended up halfway in the front seat of the suspect's car, where she was beaten and punched and dragged a few feet before she finally let go.
"She knew she either had to let go or be dragged down the street," said Leslie Lakkis, Pacheco's daughter. "So eventually, she let go. She was also beat in the head, beat in the arm, I mean, you know, terrible."
The suspect did get the purse and when Cynthia was being treated, she suffered a heart attack, possible from the trauma. She is still hospitalized, but thankfully, she's doing ok.
