Police: Alert Neighbors Stop and Surround Man Leaving Beacon Street Home With Stolen Purse

A man who walked into a woman's Beacon Street house and left with her handbag Friday was stopped and surrounded by neighbors until police arrived. According to police reports, around 10:25 a.m. a woman who was assisting with a move at 74 Beacon St. noticed that a man she didn't know was walking out of the building carrying a woman's handbag. She asked her companions if they knew him and they all went outside to confront him, according to reports. 

Outside they saw him going through the handbag. One of them grabbed the bag from him and another identified it as her property that was left unattended inside the home.

While the group had the man surrounded, one noticed a woman's wallet protruding from his coat pocket. She reached in and grabbed it, reports state. One member of the group called police and informed them that they had stopped the man and were standing with him until police arrived. Police arrested Earle Wayne Randolph, of Watertown, on charges of larceny over $200, trespassing and receiving stolen property. 

In other police news:

• At 7:28 p.m. on Saturday police responded to 21 Beacon St. for a report of assault and battery.