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May 9, 2008 11:50 pm US/Pacific
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Purse Snatchers Lead Police On High-Speed Chase
BUENA PARK, Calif.
A purse snatching turned into a high-speed chase from Buena Park into Compton.
Three men grabbed a woman's purse, which contained $2,500, as she left a bank in a supermarket and walked to her car in the parking lot of SuperOne Grocery, 5301 Beach Blvd. just after noon. The men pushed her to the ground and snatched her Louis Vuitton purse, Buena Park police Sgt. William Kohanek said.
"She was alone and going to an expensive car," Kohanek said. "It was a crime of opportunity."
She suffered a broken ankle or a bad sprain and had to be taken to a hospital, he said.
A witness gave police a good description of the getaway car, a silver 2008 Pontiac Grand Am, and said it was last seen going south on Beach Boulevard, Kohanek said.
Officers saw the car driving onto the westbound Artesia (91) Freeway and tried to signal the driver over, but he refused and speeds reached up to 100 mph. Officers saw items being thrown from the car, that were later recovered, before the driver got off the freeway in Compton.
The officer performed the PIT maneuver and made the suspect's car spin out and stop. All three suspects got out and ran in different directions, but each one was caught, Kohanek said.
Two of the men resisted arrest and were shot with Taser guns. One man complained of pain and was taken to a hospital.
The men were booked on suspicion of robbery and possession of stolen property. They were identified as Javonti Hewing, 18, his brother, Jaquon Hewing, 21, both of Long Beach and Phillip Sanders, 34, of Van Nuys.
Credit cards and a broken cell phone had been tossed from the car, but the purse with the money was still inside the suspect's car, Kohanek said.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)