65-year-old shopper chases after Wal-Mart purse snatcher

A 65-year-old Luling woman that had her purse stolen at Wal-Mart chased the thief through the parking lot, yelling for help and alerting a witness who was able to follow the getaway car and get a good ID of the crooks.

The woman told officers that the incident began on Oct. 29 when she was loading her groceries into her vehicle. She had her purse in the basket covered with a shirt, but looked up after loading a bag to find that the shirt was moved and her purse was missing. She told officers that she then saw a black male running towards the Murphy USA gas station.

The woman started to chase the thief and yelled for help. Her yelling alerted a good Samaritan at the Murphy station who observed the thief running towards Highway 90. The man got into his vehicle and began to chase after the thief, who got into a red car with silver rims.

The getaway vehicle was able to escape, and the good Samaritan returned to Wal-Mart to check on the courageous victim.

Officers were able to track the getaway car to Paul Maillard Road, and the vehicle eventually stopped at the intersection of Bailey Street and Good Children Street. Officers then observed two people flee from the vehicle, with two more remaining in the car.

After searching the vehicle, officers located two credit cards bearing the victim's name in the center console. The good Samaritan was then taken to the vehicle and was able to make a positive ID.

A day later, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office arrested Chrissy Billiot for allegedly serving as the getaway driver. They are still searching for the purse snatcher, who is described as being between 20 to 25 years old and between 5'9 to 6'1. At the time of the crime, the thief was wearing a black jacket with a hood, a baseball cap worn sideways and jeans. He also had dreadlocks.