Chicago Police apprehended a man in connection with a purse-snatching incident on the Magnificent Mile Friday morning.
Chicago Police News Affairs Richard D. Mendoza, 31, came up behind a 44-year-old woman at around 8:19 a.m. on Black Friday at 55 E. Erie. The man choked her and knocked her to the ground, police said.
The two started fighting over her purse until the man kicked the woman and got away, police said.
Two men then started chasing the purse snatcher east on Erie until Mendoza allegedly threw the purse in an alley and tried getting into a cab. The two men were able to stall the cab, and police arrested Mendoza.
The woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial in stable condition, police said. She suffered bruising to her face and swelling on her head.
This is the latest violent crime reported in the upscale Gold Coast neighborhood. Last weekend a doctor was brutally stabbed and robbed in the men's room of the Westin Hotel after he and his family attended the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival.
Not far from where the stabbing occurred, a shoplifting Sunday night led to a police-involved shooting.
Police said an officer on patrol came across four suspects walking out of the American Apparel store on East Walton Street with arms full of clothing. They got into a gray car and when the officer tried to stop the vehicle, the driver tried to run over the officer.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday fielded questions about the stabbing and robbery, saying he's not only concerned about Gold Coast crime, but violence across the city.
"It's not just about the Magnificent Mile," Emanuel said at an unrelated event. "It's about every part of this city. ... As I've said before, I want Roseland as safe as Ravenswood, I want South Shore as safe as Sauganash, and I want Woodlawn as safe as Wildwood, and I won't rest until that happens."
Emanuel maintained that the city's police strategy is working and said it's making progress daily.
"It's not a linear line, but it's making progress throughout the city."
