KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 42-year-old Cameron, Missouri, man is facing felony robbery charges for snatching the purse of an 89-year-old woman last month in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
Around 4:45 p.m. on Monday, March 24, police received a call of a strong-armed robbery near the intersection of W. 12th Street and Central Street.
Police were able to locate the woman lying down on the sidewalk. She was able to tell police that she walking down the street when she felt a tug on her purse from behind. Despite her best efforts, the suspect was able to wrest her purse away.
The woman told police she had $120, bank cards and her iPhone taken. The woman was transported to an area hospital with a broken shoulder, multiple broken ribs and fingers, and soreness to a recently-replaced hip.
Police used surveillance video and city traffic cameras to develop a suspect, identified as Zachary Locke.
Locke was eventually arrested on April 6 at the downtown Kansas City Public Library.
In an interview with detectives, Locke allegedly admitted to the crime.
“I hurt somebody. An elderly woman. I took her purse,” Locke reportedly said.
Locke told detectives he was having a psychotic episode and was hungry and used the cash from the woman’s purse to purchase food at a Dollar General store.
—
If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
