Bandit Threatens 4-Year-Old With Knife for Mom's Purse
It's not uncommon to read and hear stories of sidewalk robberies in the OC. It is, however, uncommon when a robber makes a young child the victim of petty theft. While walking east in the 3600 block of West Fifth Street in Santa Ana on Wednesday morning, a woman and her 4-year-old son were approached from behind by a bandit.
The robber grabbed the boy from behind and held a knife to the youngster's stomach, demanding the mother's purse. She informed the thief that she was not carrying any money, but he assured her he would hurt her son if she failed to hand over her purse. The mother complied, also handing over her cellphone, per the robber's request.
Was jabbing a young boy with a knife worth it for the desperate thief? We'll let you be the judge. He fled the scene with mom's blue, floral print purse, $10, her identification, an ATM card and a cellphone.
Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna says the robber is described as a clean-shaven Latino man, 35- to 37-years old, 5-foot-4, 180 to 190 pounds, with short, black hair and a dark complexion. He was wearing a blue tee and a blue baseball cap at the time of the crime.
Police are still searching for the suspect and are asking anyone with information about the robbery to call 714-245-8400.
