DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) – A man accused of giving a woman a rough ride at a Southwest Ranches gas station got a ride of his own — to jail — this weekend.
7News cameras showed 19-year-old Robert K. Flagg walking with a limp as Davie Police officers took the handcuffed, dreadlocked suspect into custody.
Investigators said Flagg is one of the men responsible for dragging Patricia Coxe across the parking lot of the gas station, June 2.
Coxe told 7News the ordeal left her scarred and scared. “I think you should be able to go pump gas at a Shell station at 11 o’clock on a Friday morning without being in terror,” she said.
Coxe said she didn’t notice the subjects’ silver sedan as it pulled up on the other side of her car at the gas station on Sheridan Street, just west of Interstate 75.
Police said the thief in the passenger side of the silver sedan tried to open Coxe’s passenger door but found it locked. He then smashed the window and snatched the victim’s purse.
It was then that, Coxe said, instinct took over and she refused to let go without a fight.
“At no time did I think, when I went to grab my purse, that I was going to get into the situation I got into,” said Coxe.
But when the victim reached in after her purse, the man shut the door on her arms, dragging her as the pair drove off.
The purse apparently wasn’t enough for the duo. Coxe said the pair also tried to swipe the cellphone in her hand, leaving her arms covered in bruises after the ordeal.
The gas station purse snatchers eventually let Coxe go, but this grandmother said she can’t let go of the fury of working for something someone else thinks they can just take. “I was raised where you don’t take something that’s not yours,” she said. “I worked hard all my life, and it was my purse, and he had it, and I went to get it.”
Davie Police are still looking for help in tracking down anyone else involved in this case. If you have any information that could help investigators, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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