Brave pizza shop worker helps nab purse snatcher

Thanks to a brave pizza shop employee, police were able to catch a robber and return a stolen purse earlier this week.

According to the Seattle Police Department Blotter, Officer Enoch Lee was driving near Holman Road and 7th Avenue NW around 12:45 AM on Tuesday night when he spotted a man sprinting down the street while clutching a purse. He said he heard a woman scream, “he just robbed me” as she pointed to the fleeing suspect.

From the Blotter:

As the suspect fled on foot, Officer Lee pulled his patrol car alongside the man and shouted for him to stop.

Instead, the suspect kept on running, dashing through a shopping center parking lot, where he took a spill and ducked behind a parked car.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, the suspect tried to run off but was “taken down,” according to Officer Lee, by a pizza shop employee, who had spotted the police chase outside his shop.

Officers arrested the suspect and recovered the victim’s purse and cellphone. A short time later, a witness approached officers and pointed out a vehicle they believed was the suspect’s getaway car.

When officers approached the vehicle, they noticed two young men slouched down in their car seats.

SPD booked the suspect into the Youth Service Center, and released the two other men after identifying and interviewing them at the North Precinct.