A purse-snatching suspect who left an 81-year-old woman with a broken nose and other injuries has been apprehended by Marion County sheriff’s deputies.
The woman’s purse had been pulled away from her Wednesday afternoon in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart in Summerfield.
After taking the woman’s purse and knocking her to the ground, the suspect fled in a white Ford Expedition.
Detective Bradley Bartlett at about noon Thursday was driving down SE Hwy. 42 and pulled over to assist several citizens who were involved in a traffic accident that just occurred ahead of him on the road. While Detective Bartlett was assisting these individuals, he saw the robbery suspect’s vehicle pass by the accident scene. Detective Bartlett and another deputy conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and made contact with the driver and lone occupant, 30-year-old Geoffrey Michael Romano. He was detained for questioning about the robbery, and he subsequently confessed to the crime and to currently having possession of the victim’s purse in his vehicle.
Romano told Detective Bartlett that his motive for the crime was that he had recently lost his job and needed money for rent. Romano stole the victim’s purse, which contained about $60, several credit cards and her driver’s license.
He was booked at the Marion County Jail.
