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Police investigating series of Durham purse snatchings

Durham police are asking for the public's help in solving a series a purse snatchings and robberies over the past three weeks that they think might be related.

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DURHAM, N.C. — Durham police are asking for the public's help in solving a series a purse snatchings and robberies over the past three weeks that they think might be related.

The crimes have happened at different times of the day in parking lots and mostly involve women leaving businesses, according to investigators. The assailant uses force or threatens physical force to intimidate the victims to get their belongings.

Police have received reports of 10 cases, most in northern Durham, in which a man flees in an SUV – a stolen burgundy Cadillac Escalade, stolen silver Toyota RAV4 or red Ford Expedition with North Carolina license plate BCS-7822 – after the crime.

Most involved purse snatchings, but some involved cash, credit cards and cellphones being stolen:

  • On Sept. 25 at 9:47 a.m., a man snatched a woman's purse in the 3600 block of Hillsborough Road and fled in an Escalade.
 
  • At 10:15 p.m. on the same day, a man snatched a woman's purse in the 1400 block of Avondale Drive and also fled in an Escalade.
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  • On Oct. 9 at 2:15 p.m., a man snatched a woman's person in the 4900 block of Howe St. and fled in a RAV4.
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  • On Oct. 10 at 6:06 a.m., a man struck an elderly man and took his cash and credit cards in the 4300 block of North Roxboro Road. The attacker fled in a silver SUV, which police believe could have been a RAV4.
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  • At 2:48 p.m. on Oct. 10, another woman had her purse snatched by a man who took off in a RAV4.
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  • At 9:42 p.m., two men snatched a purse in the 2800 block of North Roxboro Road and fled in a RAV4.
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  • The next day, Oct. 11, at 6:39 p.m., a man grabbed a person's phone in the 2500 block of Guess Road and fled in a RAV4.
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  • Three minutes later, in the 2000 block of Guess Road, a woman had her purse snatched by a man who left in a RAV4.
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  • On Oct. 15 at 10:55 p.m., a man took a wallet and a cellphone from two people at a Laundromat in the 3800 block of Guess Road and fled in an Expedition.
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  • At 4:28 a.m. on Oct. 16, a man snatched a woman's purse in the 100 block of Stratford Lake Drive. He fled in an Expedition.
  • The man has been described as black with a dark complexion, a muscular build, standing 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet 1 inch tall with a large muscular build.

    Anyone with information is asked to call the Durham Police Department at 919-560-4582, extension 29240 or 29238 or Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200.

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