WEST MELBOURNE, Florida — In another infamous news moment for Florida’s Space Coast (like the Dougherty Gang), the West Melbourne Walmart purse snatching crime has made CNN. Brevard Times will provide a link to the CNN news story as soon as it becomes available. West Melbourne police announced yesterday that they have made arrests in the Wal Mart purse-snatching crime that occurred on April 24. Police say that a West Melbourne detective arrested 34-year-old Angela Marie Siewert of 1750 Bottlebrush Drive NE, Palm Bay, Florida as the suspect who snatched the purse.
Siewert, who is already in the Brevard County Jail, was taken to jail on an outstanding warrant on Tuesday following the traffic stop of a vehicle that was suspected of being used during the commission of the crime.
Also arrest was 51-year-old Michelle Yvonne Welling of 1006 Bacon Circle NE, Unit B, Palm Bay, Florida as the suspected driver of the suspect vehicle.
Both women are charged with robbery by sudden snatching. Welling is also charged with aggravated battery and Siewert is charged with simple Battery.
At approximately 7:40 p.m. on April 24, 2012, a 53-year-old woman was loading her purchases in the back of her vehicle at a Wal Mart parking lot located on 845 Palm Bay Road in West Melbourne, Florida when a white van approached and circled around her.
The van’s passenger grabbed the victim’s purse, dragging the victim over 150 feet across the parking lot as the van sped away. The victim was not seriously hurt. The suspects (the driver and front passenger of the van) got away with the victim’s purse.
Later in the evening, West Melbourne Police spotted a vehicle matching the suspect vehicle description and stopped it. Investigators are reasonably certain the vehicle was the one used in the robbery and the vehicle has been seized. Investigators have “persons of interest” in the case and are hoping to make arrests in the near future.
Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).
