SOUTHWEST RANCHES, FLA. (WSVN) - A man accused of giving a woman a rough ride at a Southwest Ranches gas station got a ride of his own to jail this weekend, and the victim is speaking out.
According to investigators, 19-year-old Robert K. Flagg is one of the two men responsible for dragging Patricia Coxe across the parking lot of the gas station on June 2.
“I did not do this for my purse. I did not do this for my $600,” Coxe said. “I did this for principle.”
7News cameras showed the 19-year-old walking with a limp as Davie Police officers took the handcuffed suspect into custody, Saturday.
Police believe the suspects have done this for quite some time. Officials said they target unsuspecting women pumping gas.
“It appears that they’re preying on women. If you watch it, they’re preying on women,” Coxe said. “I was in that gas station, probably for 30 seconds before they targeted me.”
The victim said this sort of ordeal should not be the norm. “I think you should be able to go pump gas at a Shell station at 11 o’clock on a Friday morning without being in terror,” she said.
Coxe said she didn’t notice the subjects’ silver sedan as it pulled up on the other side of her car at the gas station on Sheridan Street, just west of Interstate 75.
Police said the thief in the passenger side of the silver sedan tried to open Coxe’s passenger door but found it locked. He then smashed the window and snatched the victim’s purse.
It was then that, Coxe said, instinct took over and she refused to let go without a fight.
“At no time did I think, when I went to grab my purse, that I was going to get into the situation I got into,” said Coxe.
But when the victim reached in after her purse, the man shut the door on her arms, dragging her as the pair drove off.
The purse apparently wasn’t enough for the duo. Coxe said the pair also tried to swipe the cellphone in her hand, leaving her arms covered in bruises after the ordeal.
The gas station purse snatchers eventually let Coxe go, but this grandmother said she can’t let go of the fury of working for something someone else thinks they can just take. “I was raised where you don’t take something that’s not yours,” she said. “I worked hard all my life, and it was my purse, and he had it, and I went to get it.”
Coxe said she’s happy the teen was caught, but she wants his accomplice arrested as well. “I’m amazed that they have him, that they got him in custody as quick as they did, and now I would like the judicial system to do their part.”
Davie Police are still looking for help in tracking down anyone else involved in this case. If you have any information that could help investigators, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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