Man on bike in Boardman grabs purses from two women

BOARDMAN — Two employees of a U.S. Route 224 check-cashing business reported being robbed.

The women told police they were leaving Purpose Money about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday when a man wearing a hoodie with a bandana tied around his face approached. He had his hand in front of his pants and under his shirt and demanded the money bag from the store.

When one of the women told the robber she didn’t have it, he grabbed her by the arm and began swinging her around, then shoved her to the ground and grabbed her purse.

The man then ran toward the other woman, grabbed her by the arms and shoved her to the ground, grabbed her purse and ran toward the west side of the building.

She ran after him and saw him get on a bicycle and ride toward the rear of the building.

Two people in a car saw the woman chasing the bicyclist and watched as he crossed Route 224 toward the Southern Park Mall lot. The driver saw the bicyclist get into the passenger side of a silver car. The car then fled the lot toward Market Street.

Police recovered the bike in the mall parking lot and found one purse on Glendale Avenue. They found the other purse in a front yard on Aylesboro Avenue.