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Dunedin Man Arrested in Purse-snatching

Pinellas Sheriff's Office

Robert B. Patrick was arrested Tuesday night in Dunedin after he allegedly snatched the purse of an 89-year-old woman on Patricia Avenue.

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SUNCOAST NEWS STAFF

Published: October 31, 2007

Updated: 11/01/2007 11:40 am

DUNEDIN, Fla. - DUNEDIN, Fla. - A local man is behind bars after being arrested in connection with a purse-snatching involving an 89-year-old woman.

The Pinellas Sheriff's Office says Robert B. Patrick was arrested shortly before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at a home at 1076 Admiral Road, Dunedin. He was taken into custody on one count of robbery by sudden snatching and ordered held in the county jail on $10,000 bail.

Patrick, 24, was still in custody as of Wednesday morning, according to Sheriff's Office records.

Deputies say the victim was walking southbound along Patricia Avenue around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday when an unidentified male assailant approached her from behind, snatched away her purse and fled on foot eastbound on Admiral Road.

The woman flagged down a passer-by who called 911, deputies say. The woman was not injured during the robbery, the Sheriff's Office says.

The man who came to the aid of the victim told deputies he had seen the suspect in the purse-snatching acting suspiciously prior to the robbery. He later saw the suspect running east along Admiral Road, deputies say.

Responding deputies set up a perimeter around the area of the robbery and found the woman's purse, minus an undisclosed amount of cash, in a nearby trash can. Deputies' continuing investigation led them to the 1076 Admiral Road address.

When deputies commanded the suspect to come out of the residence, they heard a rustling sound in the attic area above the garage and saw a foot poke through drywall in the garage ceiling.

The suspect, identified as Patrick, then climbed down from the attic and surrendered to deputies. Under questioning, he admitted to robbing the woman and showed deputies the missing money, which was hidden in a drawer, deputies say.

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