Resident refuses to give up her purse without a fight
Incident shows dangers of taking the law into your own hands, police say

Unknown thieves stole a woman's purse in the Wal-Mart parking lot at 255 Cochran St. shortly after noon on April 15.

Debra Rodriguez, 51, of Simi Valley had just finished shopping at Wal-Mart and was pushing a cart with her purchases into the parking lot when a man approached, grabbed her purse from the seat area of her shopping cart and ran to a waiting vehicle.

Rodriguez ran after him, reached into the open window of his vehicle, grabbed her purse and demanded that it be returned to her.

The vehicle began to move but Rodriguez was still hanging from the open window. She was dragged about 20 feet through the parking lot until she let go of the vehicle. Rodriguez suffered an abrasion to her right elbow.

The thieves' vehicle is described as a white Honda Civic with no license plates.

The thieves are described as two Hispanic males and one Hispanic female. One male is 22 to 25 years old, 160 pounds, slender build and brown hair.

Anyone who saw this incident or has additional information is asked to call Simi Valley detectives at (805) 583-6950.

The police department reminds citizens that if they are faced with being victims of or witnesses to a crime, they are encouraged not to attempt to interfere with the criminals but simply be a good witness.

A victim or witness may be injured if they attempt to stop a criminal.