Northampton Police investigate purse-snatching on King Street that turned violent

NORTHAMPTON — Police are investigating a purse-snatching on King Street that turned into a fight Tuesday night.



Detective Lt. Alan Borowski said a woman and her boyfriend were walking near Acme Auto at 220 King St. at 11:30 p.m. when two men approached them from behind, grabbed the woman’s purse and ran away.



Her boyfriend chased the men and caught up to them on Hooker Avenue where the three got into a fistfight, Borowski said. He said the boyfriend backed off when one of the alleged robbers pulled out a knife and threatened to stab him. The two men got in a car and left the area.



Borowski said neither the woman nor the boyfriend were able to get the license plate number on the vehicle, but police did find evidence at the scene that may be helpful in determining the identities of the suspects. Borowski said the descriptions for the suspects — men in their 20s with short hair — do not seem to match with that given in another knifepoint robbery that occurred May 17.



Police are still attempting to identify the man responsible for that May 17 robbery, as well as an attack that same night they believe may have been committed by the same man. On that night, a woman reported a man held a knife to her throat on King Street by the Old Hampshire County Courthouse and demanded money. Minutes later, police received a report from a woman who said she was walking near 274 Main St. and was grabbed from behind, but managed to get away.



Rebecca Everett can be reached at reverett@gazettenet.com.





