Arrest in purse snatching

Friday, July 31, 2009

An 18-year-old man was arrested after a Jersey City woman was robbed of her pocketbook at around 1 a.m. yesterday, police said.

Jackson Diaz, of Washington Heights in Manhattan, was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, resisting arrest and aggravated assault on a police officer, reports said.

Diaz allegedly approached the woman near her home on Van Reypen Street, shoved her and then fled with her pocketbook, which contained a Blackberry, several credit and debit cards, and $11 in cash, police said.

While police were escorting her home, the woman pointed out a man she believed was the robber, reports said.

Police began to follow Diaz on Highland Avenue and found him hiding behind bushes. Diaz attempted to hit one of the officers but was quickly subdued and arrested, reports said.

The woman's Blackberry, debit and credit cards were recovered. Police also found three ATM receipts that resulted in failed transactions.

The woman couldn't definitively identify Diaz, who police believe changed clothes before he was arrested, as the man who attacked her, reports said.

KONSTANTIN SATCHEK