Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

68-Year-Old Woman Arrested for Snatching Purses at Restaurants, Police Say

By Janet Upadhye | June 25, 2014 8:14am | Updated on June 25, 2014 11:46am
VIDEO: Elderly Woman Snatches Purse from Woman Dining at Mullane's Grill
View Full Caption
NYPD

FORT GREENE — A 68-year-old woman and ex-con caught on a surveillance camera swiping a purse from a customer at Mullanes Grill in Fort Greene has been arrested for the theft and another at a restaurant in Park Slope, police said.

Hannah Harris, of Boerum Hill, was hit with two counts of grand larceny and one count of criminal possession of stolen property in connection to the theft as well as a purse snatching at Tea Lounge, at 837 Union St. in Park Slope on June 1, police said.

Surveillance video shows Harris, 68, who pleaded guilty to another grand larceny case earlier this month, entering Mullane's, at 71 Lafayette Ave. at approximately 10:30 p.m. Sunday wearing a long white gown and black sunglasses and carrying several bags, according to police.

Shortly afterward, she can be seen slowly taking a purse from the back of a chair, where a 45-year-old woman is dining with a child sitting on her lap, then exiting the restaurant, according to the NYPD.

A manager at Mullanes had no comment on the arrest.

This is not Harris' first run-in with the law. She spent more than two years in prison — from 1989 to 1991 — on charges of grand larceny, officials confirmed.

She was again arrested in Manhattan in late 2013 and pleaded guilty to grand larceny on March 19. The circumstances of that case were not immediately clear.

According to public records, she was released without bail that same day. She is due back in court for sentencing on Sept. 17.

Police at the 78th and 88th precincts identified Harris as a possible suspect for the recent crimes and visited her home to question her when they saw stolen property in her home, according to police.

Police returned with a search warrant and recovered several items, including a purse, pocketbook, phone charger and sunglasses.