Local man caught snatching purse at Slidell grocery store

By Erik Sanzenbach
St. Tammany News
Published on Friday, May 30, 2008 10:07 AM CDT

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An elderly woman whose purse was stolen at the local Winn-Dixie supermarket on Pontchartrain Drive Wednesday afternoon is lucky to have her purse and money returned to her after Slidell police arrested the alleged thief.

Beltran D. Perez, 22, 3233 William Tell St., Slidell, was arrested on a charge of theft under $300.

According to Slidell police spokesman Capt. Kevin Foltz, police got a call at 2:54 p.m. from the Winn-Dixie management, saying they had caught a suspect for purse snatching.

Perez

The victim, a 69-year-old woman, told police she had put her purse in the child’s seat of her grocery cart. The woman had gotten a product off the shelf, and when she turned back to the cart, her purse was gone. Just before the theft, she noticed a man in the same aisle.

The victim informed the store’s management, and the store manager instructed several of his employees to search the store for the suspect and told others to stand at the exit to prevent the alleged thief from leaving. A female employee found Perez in the men’s bathroom. She told male employees where Perez was, and they went into the bathroom and detained Perez, who was hiding in a stall.

When police arrived, the victim told them the exact amount of cash that was in her purse. Police searched Perez, who had the exact amount of cash missing in his pockets, Foltz said. After the discovery, Perez admitted to taking the victim’s purse, and he was arrested and charged with theft.

Perez was booked at the Slidell City Jail with a $319 bond. However, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities have put a hold on Perez’ release to determine his legal status.

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