Police: Woman Injured, Bristol Man Charged in Saturday Purse Snatching

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A Southington woman was left with minor injuries and a Bristol man is now facing charges including robbery following a “mugging” incident outside the store on North Main Street over the weekend, police said.

, assisted by the Bristol Police Department, arrested Juan Gonzalez at his Bristol home on Saturday night. He was arraigned Monday in Bristol Superior Court on charges of third-degree robbery and sixth-degree larceny.

Court officials said Gonzalez, 50, of 271 Park St., remains in custody in lieu of a $50,000 cash only bond. He is due back in court on Dec. 22, officials said.

“Gonzalez had approached a woman in the parking lot around 6 p.m. that evening and allegedly ripped the purse off of her,” said Sgt. Lowell DePalma. “It’s not like the previous incident we had where it was left in a carriage. This purse was physically removed.”

DePalma said the woman suffered “minor injuries” which included bruising to her arm and leg as a result of the confrontation.

After taking the purse, police said Gonzalez was seen fleeing by car and officers tracked him down after obtaining the plate number from a witness. Police tracked the plates and were able to arrest him at his home in Bristol without further incident.

A police report did not say whether the purse was recovered.

Gonzalez could face additional charges after the latest incident violated conditions of a probation given to him in 2007 after he entered a guilty plea stemming from a second-degree larceny arrest in Farmington that same year.

According to court documents, Gonzalez had been given a six-year sentence, which was suspended after two years, followed by three years of probation. He was out on probation when this latest incident occurred.