BOGALUSA, LA (WGNO) — Washington Parish deputies announced an arrest in a theft and attempted purse snatching investigation.
They describe it as a “saga” and say it started on August 29 at a store in Angie, LA.
According to deputies, a woman at the store was shopping when someone tried to grab her purse. As the woman reported the attack to the cashier, another customer overheard the conversation and escorted the woman to her car as a safety precaution.
Deputies say that while the pair was in the parking lot, they saw the man who tried to grab the purse quickly leaving the store with a shopping cart full of merchandise. They say the man got into a car that was being driven by a woman and left the scene with the merchandise.
The store worker who escorted the woman to her car was able to get the license plate of the getaway car. Deputies located the woman who was driving it. They say she told them that the man simply asked for a ride to Bogalusa and she agreed to help. Deputies say the woman did not know that the man had stolen the items he’d taken from the store. They also say the woman told them that the man lived with his mother and she knew him only by the name of Ghost.
Deputies say they were able to identify 49-year-old Thomas Washington of East 4th Street in Bogalusa as the suspect.
Washington was booked with theft and attempted purse snatching. His bond was set at $12,500.