Crime & Safety
Alleged Purse Snatcher Arrested
The man asked to use the female victim's cell phone, then dropped it as a distraction and grabbed her purse, a sheriff's official says.
A man accused of snatching a woman's purse in the parking lot was arrested today.
James Patrick Justin O'Beirne, 31, of Winchester, was arrested on suspicion of felony strong-arm robbery. He was booked into and held in lieu of $25,000 bail, according to jail records.
The victim was walking through the parking lot toward the store with her purse in a shopping cart at 1:38 p.m. today when O'Beirne approached her, according to sheriff's Sgt. Jon Wade.
Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The man told her that his phone's battery was dead, and he asked whether he could use her phone. She agreed, and he used the phone as a distraction, the sergeant said.
"After appearing to make a call, O'Beirne acted as if he was handing the phone back to the victim, and he intentionally dropped the phone on the ground,"
Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Wade wrote in an announcement. "O'Beirne abruptly grabbed the victim's purse from the shopping cart and attempted to flee."
The woman grabbed her purse, and the contents spilled on the ground. The suspect then dove for her wallet, and the two fought over that, Wade said.
"O'Beirne was unable to wrestle the wallet away from the victim," the sergeant wrote. "O'Beirne ran to a waiting vehicle and fled with only the victim's purse and an unknown amount of U.S. currency."
A witness followed O'Beirne, who had a female in his car, as they exited the parking lot. The witness got the license plate number and gave it to the sheriff's department.
Investigators found the address of the registered owner by running a check on the license plate number and found the suspect at a home in the 32900 block of Taylor Street in Winchester. Investigators later found the purse in an empty field near the house at Lean and Scott roads.
O'Beirne was arrested, but investigators decided the female passenger was unaware of O'Beirne's plans to snatch the purse. She was not arrested.
Investigators asked anybody with information on this incident to call the Temecula Police Department at 951-696-3000.
Visit Temecula Patch's pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter by clicking the links.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
