Man arrested for purse snatching at local grocery

By Staff
Jason Houston FCT Managing Editor
A Bear Creek man was apprehended on foot Sunday morning by Russellville officers after stealing a woman's purse.
RPD Investigator Capt. David Hester said a woman called the police Sunday around 10 a.m. to report that her purse had been stolen outside a local grocery story and that the suspect had fled on foot into the woods near the store.
Onlookers followed the suspect and told responding officers which direction he ran, Hester said.
RPD officers Leslie Sheffield and Jerry McClurg responded to the call, apprehended the suspect and recovered the stolen purse.
Hester said David Dewayne Johnson, 33, of 617 County Line Church Road in Bear Creek, was arrested and charged with third-degree robbery and first-degree theft of property.
Hester said a separate report was filed that Johnson had stolen some jewelry and traded it for crack cocaine, so it was suspected that Johnson took the purse in order to obtain drug money.
The investigation into the jewelry theft resulted in the return of the stolen jewelry, Hester said.
The investigation into the case is continuing.
In an unrelated case, Hester said a Mississippi man is in jail after allegedly stealing a checkbook from a local business and using it to purchase goods illegally.
Michael Lee Perry, 25, of Iuka, Miss., is charged with several counts of theft by deception.