Senior dragged during alleged purse robbery attempt at St. Catharines police station

A Niagara region police cruiser can be seen above. (Wikipedia Commons)

A 39-year-old St. Catharines resident has been charged after officials say a woman was dragged through a local police station while trying to stop a man from allegedly stealing her purse.

The incident happened on May 30 at Niagara Regional Police Service’s (NRPS) 1 District at 198 Welland Ave.

Police said they were called to the building’s lobby for an assault in progress.

There, officers found a man who was “acting erratically” when he allegedly approached a 77-year-old woman who was sitting on a bench.

This individual then “proceeded to ramble and make incoherent conversation,” they said.

The woman did not engage with the suspect, whom police said paced throughout the front lobby.

Police said that the suspect then violently grabbed the woman’s purse when she attempted to retrieve it from the bench.

They said that the victim struggled to hold on to her handbag as the suspect started fleeing towards the main entry door of the front lobby while firmly holding the woman’s purse.

Police said that the victim, who refused to let go of her bag, fell to the floor while still clutching her purse and was dragged through the station’s lobby, front vestibule, and towards the concrete steps in front of the building.

Officers intervened at that point and arrested the suspect.

They also recovered the woman’s purse and its contents.

The victim sustained serious injuries. She was taken to a local hospital.

Ajitsingh Chandel, 39, of St. Catharines, has been charged with robbery. He was held in custody pending a May 31 bail hearing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact NRPS at 905-688-4111, option 3, ext. 1002200, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.