Purse Snatching Thwarted by Off-Duty Shelton Police Officer

SHELTON, CT - An off-duty Shelton police officer thwarted an alleged purse-snatching incident Wednesday in the Walmart parking lot on Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton, according to police.

Officer Nicholas Ardizzone was pulling into the parking lot when he saw a white male, later identified as 26-year-old Trumbull resident Shane Kral, running across the lot with a purse in his hands, according to Det. Richard Bango in a Facebook post.

Kral was being chased by an elderly woman when he jumped into a black SUV and fled, with Off. Ardizzone in pursuit. He jumped out of the vehicle and started running and Ardizzone caught him in the woods nearby. On-duty officers quickly arrived on the scene and they found heroin in Kral's possession, according to Bango.

"Officers then spoke with the 70-year-old victim who stated she was parking her vehicle, and when she exited she noticed Kral hunched down behind her vehicle," wrote Bango. "The victim stated that Kral then lunged at her grabbing her purse and ran away. The victim did not [report] any injuries."

Kral was arrested and charged with:

• Robbery 3rd Degree
• Interfering with an Officer
• Breach of Peace 2nd Degree
• Illegal Possession
• Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

He was being held in lieu of a $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.