Columbia Man Robbed Older Adults: Police

COLUMBIA, MD — A Columbia man has been charged in several robberies. The teen is accused of targeting older women, one of whom he allegedly robbed while she was on a scooter.

Zayah Abdul Alhassan, 19, of the 7100 block of Talisman Lane, is charged with multiple counts of robbery, theft and assault.

Howard County police allege Alhassan shoved an elderly woman on a scooter and stole her purse from her wrist on May 30.

Police said an older woman was getting out of her vehicle in a parking lot when someone stole the purse from her shoulder on May 22, and Alhassan was suspected.

At 5:29 p.m. on May 14, officials responded to the 7000 block of Cradlerock Way for a report of someone following an older woman into an apartment building lobby, then taking her purse out of a shopping cart.

Alhassan was charged with robbery, second-degree assault and theft between $100 and $1,500, court records show.

File photo by Patch/Renee Schiavone.