Robber Drags Woman, 71, Across Parking Lot

LAWRENCE, Ind. -- Police said they're looking for a man who dragged a 71-year-old woman across a store's parking lot in a failed attempt to wrest a purse from her.

Surveillance video shows a man -- who police said they believe is Matthew Woods, 19 -- grabbing the woman's purse as she walked toward the Kohl's store in Lawrence on Sept. 14.

Police said Woods tried to walk away with the purse, but the woman wouldn't let go, so he dragged her for many feet to his getaway car.

"She was (dragged) for so many feet, she just said she's not going to release her purse to this person, so she held on," Lawrence police Sgt. James Vaughan told 6News' Jack Rinehart Thursday.

Woods, apparently spooked by someone who had driven nearby, eventually left the purse and the woman and entered a getaway car driven by his sister Phebi Caston, police said.

Caston drove away with Woods, and a witness followed them in a car to an apartment complex, police said.

The witness called police, and Caston, 23, was arrested on a charge of assisting a criminal.

Police said this picture of Matthew Woods was taken earlier this year when he was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft.

Woods was not found, police said. An arrest warrant charging him armed robbery has been issued.

The 71-year-old suffered a badly swollen ankle and cuts and bruises to her arms.

Vaughan said the woman's best option probably would have been to let Woods take the purse.

"But in her eyes, that was her property and she didn't want to let it go," Vaughan said.

Police said anyone with information on Woods' whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477. People with tips can call anonymously and could qualify for a cash reward.

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