Police: Purse-snatcher drags woman, 69, out of car at mall
WELLINGTON — A 24-year-old man is accused of dragging a 69-year-old woman out of her car at the Mall at Wellington Green parking lot last month in an attempt to steal her purse, the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office said.
Terrell Tillman was arrested June 28 on charges of burglary with battery, strong-arm robbery and aggravated battery on a person 65 years old or older, according to a probable-cause affidavit. He was being held at the county jail Wednesday on $60,000 bail.
Deputies say on the day of Tillman’s arrest, the woman had left the J.C. Penney store in the mall at Forest Hill Boulevard and State Road 7, and had walked to her car in the parking lot. As she started the car, a man appeared at the open driver’s-side door and grabbed her purse, which was on her lap and looped over her left shoulder, according to the affidavit.
When Tillman pulled on the purse, he dragged the woman onto the ground toward the rear of the vehicle. Fearing further injury, the woman let go of her purse, the report said. She was treated at Wellington Regional Medical Center for minor injuries.
A witness said he saw a man carrying a purse get into a green or gray Nissan Pathfinder and drive away. The witness followed the vehicle and told dispatch the vehicle’s tag number. Deputies spotted the vehicle eastbound on Southern Boulevard, and it would not stop when they tried to pull it over.
Deputies were able to pull Tillman over near a relative’s home in Riviera Beach, the report said. Tillman — who jail records say has no current address and who has past addresses in Riviera Beach and West Palm Beach — was arrested, but a front-seat passenger ran away.
According to the affidavit, Tillman said he and the passenger, whom he called “Black,” had driven to the mall to meet a friend and that Black had gotten out of the vehicle. He then heard a car alarm go off, and Black returned with a beige purse. Black told him to drive away, and when deputies tried to stop them, Black threatened him with a gun and told him not to stop.
Tillman said Black was wearing a bandanna and a ballcap, but the witness and the woman said the suspect had short cropped hair and wasn’t wearing any headgear. They also said the suspect got into the driver’s seat, and Tillman said he was the one driving.