Chicago Man Charged With Swiping Purse From Car At Catholic Cemetery

EVERGREEN PARK, IL -- A Chicago man was arrested after he stole a purse out of a car at a cemetery while two people were visiting a grave, prosecutors said. Johnny Johnson, 53, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on a felony charge of burglary to a motor vehicle. Johnson was arrested on Aug. 28.

According to the charges, the victims were at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery at 87th Street and Hamlin Avenue in Evergreen Park. The prosecutor said the two people were standing ten to twenty feet away from their hatchback, which was open, visiting a gravesite. The woman heard the car alarm going off and saw Johnson allegedly taking her purse out the car. She took three pictures of his vehicle driving away and turned them over to Cook County Sheriff’s Police.

The prosecutor said Johnson has seven felonies, most of them theft related. Johnson also has a pending DUI, according to court records.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Johnson lives in Chicago and was supposed to start a new job as a shift manager at Popeye’s.

Judge Felice set bail at $150,000, based on his past record. Johnson is due back in court Sept. 19 in Bridgeview.