A suspect has been arrested in a purse snatching at a thrift shop run by a Villages church.
The purse had been stolen from a 67-year-old woman at 11:20 a.m. May 13 outside the Bargains & Blessings thrift shop on Main Street in Wildwood, according to a report from the Wildwood Police Department. She had walked to her car in the parking lot, carrying a basket she had purchased in the thrift shop. Her purse was strapped to her wrist. As she was placing the basket in her car, a man came up behind her and suddenly snatched her purse which contained cash, credit cards, a diamond ring and a Galaxy 5 cell phone.
On Wednesday, 44-year-old Eugene Dixon of Wildwood was pulled over on an unrelated charge of driving while license suspended. He also matched the suspect captured on video surveillance in the theft of the purse May 13 at Bargains & Blessings.
He admitted to police he had taken the purse. He said he kept $30 in cash and discarded the purse not long after taking it. He told police the robbery had not been planned, but rather it was an impulsive act.
He is facing felony charges of robbery, larceny and obstructing justice. He is also charged with driving while license suspended.
He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center on $10,500 bond.
Bargains & Blessings is run by New Covenant United Methodist Church in The Villages and the United Methodist Church in Wildwood. They opened the thrift shop in 2014.
