Police Arrest Suspect Tied To Stolen Purse, Credit Cards
By Space Coast Daily // January 30, 2015
purse snatching at the Publix grocery store
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – West Melbourne investigators arrested 24-year-old Joseph Bellinger on Thursday in connection with the Jan. 8 purse snatching at the Publix grocery store on West New Haven Avenue.
On Jan. 8, an elderly woman exited the Publix grocery store on West New Haven Avenue. As she began unloading her groceries into her vehicle, a man approached her and then snatched the woman’s purse and ran away, according to investigators.
According to West Melbourne investigators, Bellinger was identified in the video surveillance footage that showed him using the victim’s stolen credit cards following the purse snatching.
Investigators received information that Bellinger was in the Rockledge area of Brevard County and relayed the information to the Rockledge Police Department.
On January 29, a Rockledge Police Officer spotted Bellinger who was a passenger in a black Ford Focus, which was the same vehicle seen on the video during the use of the credit cards.
The Rockledge Police Officer conducted a traffic stop and placed Bellinger under arrest without incident, and was handed over to the Brevard County Jail.
The investigation is on going as police look into the possibility of Bellinger being the suspect in other similar cases.
ABOVE MAP: West Melbourne investigators arrested 24-year-old Joseph Bellinger on Thursday in connection with the Jan. 8 purse snatching at the Publix grocery store on West New Haven Avenue.
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