Today, further reminders that the social and economic factors that drive crime are bigger than the arrest of any single individual. After a seeming lull in activity following the arrest of two people in connection with a string of street robberies across Capitol Hill and nearby neighborhoods, CHS has learned of another recent mugging — this one an aggressive purse grab last Wednesday night just before midnight.

Late last night, CHS reported on a street robbery near 17th and John in which a woman lost her cell phone to a man who attacked her from behind.

In the April 21st purse snatch, a woman told police she was walking on E. Harrison near 11th Ave E  when a man “grabbed her from behind, threw her to the ground, and laid on top of her as he pulled her purse from her grasp,” according to an SPD report.

The man fled north on Federal Ave and through a yard where the victim lost sight of him. Police and K-9 units searched for the attacker but were unsuccessful, according to the report.

The victim described the man as a white male in his 20s, around 5’10” to 6′ tall, 180-190 pounds, with a blond buzz cut and wearing a black hoodie and dark clothing at the time of the attack.

At a recent community crime meeting, East Precinct officials said that street robberies in the area had dropped following the arrest of two suspects who allegedly used an Airsoft pistol in their hold-ups. CHS will have more on the man and the teen charged in that crime later this week.