Crime & Safety

Police Arrest Felon Who Snatched Purse From Murrieta Park

A suspect who allegedly stole a woman's purse Wednesday at Firefighter's Park was taken into custody a short time later, police said.

A convicted felon was arrested within hours of allegedly snatching a woman's purse from in Murrieta.

At 3:11 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, the pursesnatching victim called police to report that she had seen the suspect, later identified as Daniel Emery Chavez, 22, of Murrieta, allegedly take her purse off a nearby table as she was at the park with her children.

The suspect then drove off, but the woman was able to describe him as well as the vehicle he was driving, said Murrieta police Sgt. Don Weller.

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"With the information provided, officers had prior knowledge of a possible suspect that matched this description given," the sergeant said.

The suspect was located in the 29400 block of Shady Lane in Murrieta, Weller said, where they recovered a majority of the victim's property. Officers also discovered that Chavez was on felony probation and had two outstanding felony arrest warrants, he said.

Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Chavez was arrested and booked into Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta on suspicion of grand theft, violation of probation and possession of a controlled substance. He was being held in lieu of $55,000 bail as of Thursday.


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