Suspect arrested for theft following the robbery of a 79-year-old grandmother’s purse outside Trader Joe’s

The Kansas City Police Department received a call and promptly arrived at the scene at approximately 7:30 p.m. According to the 79-year-old victim, she was watching her granddaughter return their shopping cart when she suddenly felt a strong impact, as if she had been hit by a car.

The victim couldn’t determine whether she was struck on the head or if she simply fell, but she quickly realized that an unseen individual had snatched her purse. The stolen bag contained insurance checks, two cell phones, her ID, and debit/credit cards, with an approximate total value of $2,200.

According to reports, she had a bruise on her head. However, she chose not to seek medical attention from first responders because she didn’t want to subject her granddaughters to any additional distress.

According to eyewitnesses, a confrontation took place between the victim and the suspect. However, the suspect’s description was limited to being a man of approximately 5’7-5’10 in height. Witnesses further mentioned that the suspect fled the scene in a Toyota Camry.

Around 9:30 p.m. that evening, a Target employee in Lee’s Summit alerted the local police about a potential fraudulent card use at the store located at 1850 NW Chipman Road. Following the employee’s tip, the officers were directed towards a white Toyota Camry that was exiting the parking lot. Consequently, the vehicle was pulled over by the authorities.

According to reports, Swift was found in possession of the 79-year-old victim’s debit and credit cards, as well as two extended magazines and 51 live rounds of ammunition in the car. The car was reported to have had three people in it at the time.

After carefully analyzing the surveillance footage, detectives were able to positively identify Swift as the individual who attempted to purchase an Xbox from Target using the stolen cards belonging to the victim.

According to court documents, Swift confessed during questioning that he was aware of another individual in the car who had robbed the victim. However, he did not make any attempt to intervene or prevent the robbery from taking place.

According to Swift, they discarded the woman’s purse near 85th Street and Holmes during the investigation. This location coincided with the last GPS ping from the victim’s phone through the Life360 app. Unfortunately, the officers were unable to retrieve either the purse or the phone.

Swift remains in custody at the Jackson County Detention Center with a bond set at $10,000. He is currently facing two charges:

• • Second-degree robbery (felony)
  • Fraudulent use of a credit/debit device (misdemeanor)

The authorities also apprehended the two individuals who were in the vehicle with Swift. Both individuals were detained, with one being held for further investigation for a period of 24 hours, just like Swift. The other person was transported to a juvenile detention facility. At this time, it remains uncertain what charges they may potentially be facing.

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