Alleged Woodland purse snatcher arrested

Beaverton, Ore., police Wednesday arrested a Beaverton man for allegedly stealing a woman’s purse out of her shopping cart on March 2 at the Woodland Walmart store.

Multiple tips to the Woodland Police Department led to the arrest of Christopher Ryan Hadley, 38, according to a news release from Woodland police.

Around 12:30 p.m. March 2, a man walked into Walmart with a woman and child, said Sgt. Robb Lipp. The man walked down an aisle, acting like he was looking at merchandise.

While a woman was turned away, he grabbed her purse from her shopping cart and walked away. The victim, seeing her purse was gone, went after the man, who took off running and left the store. He tossed the purse into the trunk of his red two-door sedan, along with his jacket.

Officers called Hadley and told him to come in for an interview, but he said he couldn’t come in for a few days. The suspect then allegedly called the theft victim, asking her not to press charges and telling her that he would pay her back double the amount of money he took, the news release said.

Cowlitz Superior Court granted Woodland police a warrant to arrest Hadley on suspicion of second-degree theft, witness tampering and bribing a witness. The department called Beaverton police, who then found and arrested Hadley.

Hadley is in custody pending extradition to Washington.

Woodland police said they did not know if the purse or any property were recovered.