Man helps stop purse snatcher outside Southfield store

Man holds purse-snatching thief until Southfield police arrive

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – A woman was leaving One Stop Market Tuesday afternoon in Southfield when a man snatched her purse off her shoulder before she even began to unload her groceries.

Luckily for that woman, Aaron Tobin was nearby.

"I see a guy take a purse of a lady's shoulder and her screaming help me, help me, somebody help me," said Tobin.

Surveillance video shows the crook surveying the parking lot. He chose to attack a woman with a cart full of groceries and two kids by her side, but he didn't count on Tobin to make a move.

"I'm not somebody that just stands and watches. Life is a participation sport," said Tobin.

Tobin ran to help the lady and he told her to call 911, but the thief had gotten away with the woman's cellphone in her purse. That's when Tobin chased him across Greenfield Avenue.

Tobin followed in his truck but eventually chased the purse snatcher on foot.

"I yelled at him again to stop when we were in the parking lot here, and he turned around a little bit and that gave me an opportunity to jump on him," said Tobin.

With help from another shopper, Tobin held the criminal in place until police arrived and arrested the man.