Drone tracks Glendale purse snatching suspect driving backwards to escape police
Police drone tracks purse snatching suspect in Glendale
Glendale police arrested a man accused of stealing an elderly woman's purse after tracking his movements through real-time surveillance.
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Glendale police arrested a man accused of snatching an elderly woman's purse, and they tracked him down using real-time surveillance.
What we know:
Store surveillance shows the suspect following the victim walking into a store. Once inside, he grabs the woman's purse from behind and takes off.
Glendale's Real Time Crime center swings into action. Drone operators follow him as he drives into a nearby neighborhood. He is then seen trying to remove the rear license plate of his getaway car.
Seconds later, officers pull up in front of him, but the suspect gets back into the vehicle and drives backwards all the way into a cul-de-sac. That is where he ditches the car and starts running through multiple backyards, even jumping over fences.
Bodycam footage shows officers finally catching up to him in a driveway with their guns drawn, then tackling him to the ground. Back at the vehicle, officers found a loaded handgun. They were also able to recover and return the victim's belongings. The suspect is now facing several charges.
"We were also able to give this woman some piece of mind and her stuff back," Glendale Police said.
Suspect drives backwards to escape Glendale police
Glendale police recovered a loaded handgun and stolen property after a foot chase through multiple neighborhoods. Surveillance tools tracked the suspect after he reportedly targeted an elderly woman.
What we don't know:
Police did not release the suspect's name or age.