Construction workers foil downtown purse-snatching

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/8/2016 (910 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A local actress is grateful to construction workers who chased the thief who stole her purse and then helped bandage her wounds.

Yvette Jones, 41, was walking to a photo shoot downtown on Monday evening when an unknown man started talking to her on the corner of Notre Dame Avenue and Princess Street, complimenting her on her top.

Jones said the man looked like he was from out of town: he was wearing a backpack at the time and asked her for directions to a hotel.

After giving him directions, the two of them started crossing the street.

"When I crossed the street, (the man) was yelling, 'Straight ahead! Straight ahead!'" she said, adding she couldn't see who the man was talking to.

From there, Jones was walking down Notre Dame Avenue towards Arthur Street when another man grabbed her purse and took off running.

"I fell to the ground. I skinned my knee, my leg, my foot, my wrist. Banged up my left thigh really badly which is still very sore today," she said. "It was very scary."

Jones said she briefly chased the man, but realized that wouldn't help her get her purse back. "So I just thought, 'I'll scream and people will hear. Maybe they'll help.'"

Construction workers working on King Street heard her screaming and rushed to help her. One of them chased the thief and retrieved her bag. The purse-snatcher fled the scene.

Jones said the construction workers then gave her first aid: they disinfected her wounds, gave her bandages and returned her purse — nothing was stolen.

"It was really nice of the construction workers to help out," she said. "And I couldn’t believe the speed of this man chasing the guy who got my purse back for me. They were just so kind.

"And then I went to my photo shoot, and I was not off my game," she said, laughing. "Just ready for my closeup, you know?"

Jones asked for the company name of the construction workers, with the intent of sending them a thank you card. They told her they didn't want the attention.

She said it wasn't until she was at the photo shoot that she realized the two men may have been working together.

"They were kind of playing the tourist card," she said. "It was just so fast and it was just really scary. But it could have been a lot worse, right?"

Jones said she went to Winnipeg Police this morning and filled out a report. Const. Rob Carver confirmed that detectives are investigating the case but have not yet generated any leads.

alexandra.depape@freepress.mb.ca