Falls cops are dealing with an unusual dilemma after the robbery of an elderly woman in the parking lot of a Pine Avenue pharmacy.
Detectives say they have a suspect, but can’t find the victim. She is described only as “an elderly woman.”
“We can’t charge this guy without a statement from her,” Falls Police Detective Capt. Ernest Palmer said. “I feel for her. She’s a victim and probably scared, but we’ll protect her and get her through the system without any stress.”
Patrol officers responded to a robbery in progress at 1:55 p.m. Tuesday and were told a suspect was being chased by three men. Officers then found the suspect on the south side of the Trott Access Center, in the custody of the men.
Palmer said witnesses told officers an elderly woman was standing at the trunk of her vehicle in the parking lot in the 1200 block of Pine Avenue, when she was approached by the suspect. The man then threw her to the ground, breaking her glasses.
Investigators said the suspect may have made off with the woman’s purse and cell phone.
“She was screaming her cell phone was taken,” Palmer said.
As the suspect tried to make his getaway, three men who were working on a car in the alley at the rear of the pharmacy heard the commotion and gave chase. The Good Samaritans chased the suspect through a nearby cemetery, toward the Trott building, where he was caught.
However, when officers returned to the parking lot, the woman who had been robbed was gone.
“The officers were concentrating on picking up the suspect,” Palmer said. “By the time they got back to the crime scene, the victim had gotten into her car and drove away.”
Palmer said the suspect suffered facial injuries in a struggle with the men who were chasing him and was treated at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and released.
Detectives are asking the victim to come forward and report the crime so charges can be placed against the suspect.
“He’s admitted encountering the woman in the parking lot,” Palmer said. “All we need now is a victim to complete the case.”
Palmer said the victim can contact Falls Police detectives at 286-4553.
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