California shoppers pepper-sprayed while subduing purse thief
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. >> Police say a thief snatched $10,000 worth of handbags from a California department store and pepper-sprayed holiday shoppers who tried to subdue him. In the end, the shoppers prevailed and the suspect was arrested.
Walnut Creek police say 42-year-old Bryan Black and a female accomplice snatched 17 high-end purses at a Nordstrom store Saturday night and ran for a getaway car.
Lt. Steve Gorski tells the San Francisco Chronicle that the woman escaped with a couple purses.
But Black, an Oakland parolee armed with a knife, was grabbed by a shopper and tackled by another.
Investigators say Black showered the shoppers with pepper spray but they managed to hang on until police arrived.
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Black is in jail, and the shoppers are OK.
