Florence Police Investigate Purse Snatchings

By Mike Perleberg Photo provided. (Florence, Ky.) – A serial purse snatcher keeps striking in Florence parking lots. Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Florence Police Department at (859) 647-5420. A purse was taken from a woman by a man outside a medical office building on Dixie Highway on November 16. The victim was getting into her vehicle when the thief approached her and grabbed her purse from around her arm causing her to fall to the ground. The suspect fled in a vehicle. Florence Police believe the same purse thief may have struck twice again on Tuesday, November 29. Both occurred in the same vicinity on Dixie Highway. An unknown male approached the victim in the parking lot of Emerson’s Bakery at around 7:00 a.m. and forcibly took her wallet that was around her arm. The male then fled in a vehicle. At about 7:44 a.m., in the parking lot of 7440 Fair Court, a third victim was walking to her vehicle when a man approached and asked her for a ride. The man grabbed her purse, knocked her to the ground, and again fled in a vehicle. Florence Police have a lead that they believe may help them identify the thief. Between the time of the two Tuesday morning robberies, a man was seen on surveillance camera attempting to gain entry into a vehicle in the parking lot at Florence Christian Church. When spotted by the car’s owner, the suspicious individual took off on-foot. The vehicles the suspect has fled in has been described as a dark-colored sedan, possibly a Toyota Camry or Chevrolet Cruze, or a blue SUV. The suspect himself is described as a black male, light complexion, medium build, 30- to 40-years-old, with facial hair.