Cops: Duo Admitted to String of Nearby Purse Snatchings

Two Levittown residents were charged in a string of purse snatchings in store parking lots this week, according to Nassau County Police.

Charles Smith, 25, and Sophia Karger, 21, turned themselves in at the Second Precinct in Syosset at 2 a.m. Friday, cops said. The two are responsible for four purse snatchings within a three-day period in Levittown and Hicksville, detectives said.

On Monday, they stole pocketbooks from a 76-year-old woman at Target and a 38-year-old woman at Walmart in Levittown, cops said.

The duo then stole a pocketbook from an 80-year-old woman at BJ’s in Levittown on Tuesday, cops said. The victim was able to give their license plate information to police.

Their final theft was on Wednesday when they tried to grab a pocketbook from a 44-Year-old woman outside Target in Hicksville, cops said. The victim resisted and fell to the ground in the struggle, police said. She was able to hang on to her belongings.

After each of the purse snatchings, the duo escaped in a black 2004 BMW, detectives said.

Smith and Karger were each charged with one count of third-degree robbery and three counts of fourth-degree grand larceny. They will be arraigned Friday at First District Court in Hempstead.

Photo: Charles Smith|Sophia Karger. Credit: NCPD

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