Police Friday sought the public’s help in identifying a skateboard-riding man who was caught on surveillance video in Wilmington snatching the purse of the 94-year-old grandmother of Los Angeles Councilman Joe Buscaino.
The crime occurred about noon on Nov. 29, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The video shows the suspect, a Latino man in his 20s, following the victim, who was using a walker out of a store in the 600 block of Wilmington Boulevard. As the woman stands near her vehicle, the suspect approaches on a skateboard, grabs her purse and flees, police said.
Police have not released the woman’s name, but Buscaino, a former police officer, told the Daily Breeze she is his grandmother, Rosario LoGrande.
The suspect has black hair and a moustache, stands about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 150-180 pounds. He wore a black shirt, black camouflage shorts and possibly has a tattoo on his left forearm.
Prior to the purse snatching, the suspect was seen in the store with another Latino male in his 20s, who has black hair and brown eyes. The second man, who is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 120-140 pounds, does not appear to be involved in the crime and was being sought as a person of interest, police said.
Anyone with information was urged to contact detectives from the LAPD’s Harbor Station at (310) 726-7756 or (310) 726-7758. After-hours calls can be made to (877) LAPD-24-7 and anonymous tips can be provided by calling Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
—City News Service