Kentucky man tries to steal woman's purse, arrested for more

A Kentucky man was caught red-handed trying to steal a woman's purse from a Salt Lake City bar and was chased by a security officer, police and gentlemen in suits before being brought down and found with drugs, prosecutors say.

The man was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with one count each of possession of a controlled substance, a third-degree felony, and theft, a third-degree felony.

Inside Shaggy's Bar, the man tried to grab a woman's purse from a nearby table that had $1,500 of valuables in it and tried to run away with it, but he didn't get very far, according to court records.

A security guard confronted the man, who started to swing his arms violently and ran out of the bar throwing the purse.

The man was chased by men in suits (who were at the bar) and a security officer at 200 South and 155 West. The security officer yelled to a nearby police officer for help catching the man.

The men caught up with the alleged thief, who was lying on the ground and said, "I give up. You got me," according to court records. As he was being arrested, the man said, "You can't arrest me, I don't have that purse on me anymore."

The officer searched the man and found an amphetamine pill in the man's pocket.

cimaron@sltrib.com

Twitter: @CimCity