Duo Who Targeted Old Ladies' Purses for Heroin Money, Tracked by iPhone App and Arrested

WAUWATOSA, WI — A duo who targeted elderly women and their purses for heroin money were arrested and charged after an iPhone tracker led them to their hiding place.

Jessica Dye, of Rockford, Illinois and Paul Landa of Lyndon Station, Wis. have both been charged with two counts of robbery with use of force. They each face a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars if they are convicted.

According to their criminal complaint, Landa picked Dye up at her home in Rockford and traveled to Milwaukee to buy crack cocaine and heroin.

Dye told police they ran out of money and hastily hatched a plan to steal purses to get more money for drugs. According to the criminal complaint, they targeted ladies in two Milwaukee-area communities - both times jumping out of their vehicles to steal purses, according to the criminal complaint.

According to police, in the first incident, a 71-year-old woman was walking through the parking lot at the CVS Pharmacy on W. Bluemound Rd. in Wauwatosa on April 20, when Dye came up from behind her and began pulling on her purse. The woman was thrown to the ground, lost her cane and injured her left leg. Dye and Landa fled the scene in a silver minivan.

Police say later that day, they reportedly assaulted a 63-year-old woman in the parking lot of the Wauwatosa Pick 'n Save.

According to the complaint, the woman was walking toward her car in the parking lot when she felt someone pull so hard on the strap of her purse that she fell to the ground, causing injury to her wrist and knee.

Police were able to track the woman's phone, which led authorities to an AmericInn in Delafield.

According to the criminal complaint, the Delafield Police Department went to the AmericInn hotel and reported seeing the suspects' vehicle, but neither Landa nor Dye. A search revealed that many of the items reported stolen were found in a garbage can inside the hotel room where they were staying.

According to the complaint, authorities tracked the vehicle's registraiton to a home in Juneau County. Law enforcement was contacted in Juneau county, who were able to first arrest Landa, and then Dye at Landon's mother's house. Dye was found hiding in a closet.

Dye is being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond. Landa is being held on a $7,500 cash bond.

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image via milwaukee county jail/shutterstock