Man grabs woman’s purse, later arrested

By Staff
The identification provided by a woman led to the arrest of a Moulton man who was out on probation at the time he allegedly grabbed the woman’s purse.
A woman reported a man had approached her as she was getting into her vehicle on the 2000 block of Beltline Road. The man asked for directions, then grabbed the woman’s purse and began pulling. The woman was knocked to the ground and the man took the purse and fled. The victim called 911 and gave the police a description of the attacker. Police later spotted a vehicle matching that description as it traveled down Beltline Road. Officers stopped the car and arrested Michael Duwayne Richard, 35, of 12462 Highway 33, Moulton. Decatur police said items from the victim’s purse were found in Richard’s vehicle.
Police also discovered Richard was wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet as part of his probation in Lawrence County on a felony charge. The bracelet is monitored periodically and would have notified the service if Richard had not arrived home by 9 p.m.
Richard was taken to the Morgan County Jail, where he was charged with theft of property in the first degree and robbery in the third degree. His bond was set at $100,000. He will be returned to Lawrence County authorities if he posts bond.