Victim falls while chasing alleged purse snatcher, witness finishes the chase

A 24-year-old man intervened when he saw a woman chasing after a man who had just allegedly snatched her purse Thursday.

The man told Myrtle Beach police he was in the area of 12^th Avenue North and Withers Alley when he saw a suspect running with a black purse and a woman chasing after him while frantically shouting, according to a police report.

The man then pursued the suspect, was able to subdue him, and brought him to the ground. He then took the victim’s purse back, laid on top of the suspect, and asked another witness to call the police, the report states.

Steven Michael Huot, 21, of Conway was arrested in connection with the incident and charged with purse snatching, jail records show.

The 42-year-old victim at the scene was visibly upset and shaken while she gave her account of what happened to police, authorities said.

She told police she had just finished her shift at a nearby hotel and sat down on the ground in the area of 12^th Avenue North and Ocean Boulevard while she waited for her friend to pick her up.

She said the suspect came up behind her and forcefully removed her purse, police said. The victim said there was a brief struggle, but the suspect was able to get her purse away from her and set off at a run, the report states.

The victim said her purse contained an electronic tablet, her debit card, and identification card.

She told police she started to chase after the suspect, but fell in the roadway on Ocean Boulevard during her pursuit and suffered minor cuts and scrapes.

That’s when the male witness stepped in and finished the chase, police said.

City surveillance cameras show the suspect in the area of the incident location walking with another person, authorities said. The suspect then separates from the person he was walking with and crosses Ocean Boulevard toward the victim, the report says.

He then disappears from the camera’s view then reappears as he is running away from the victim with her purse, according to police.

Authorities said the cameras also show the victim chasing after him.

Huot admitted to police that he forcefully removed the victim’s purse from her, the report states.

Huot is being held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on $20,000 bond for the purse snatching charge, jail records show.