ITHACA, N.Y. — A man who pushed a 71-year-old woman to the ground and stole her purse with a valued rosary inside has been taken into custody, police say.
Darryl Bradshaw, 23, of Ithaca, was taken into custody Thursday after a search warrant was issued for his West Village Place apartment, The search turned up items from the robbery, including rosary beads the woman said are more than 50-years-old and have sentimental value to her. Bradshaw is charged with felony third-degree robbery and petit larceny.
According to police, the woman was walking around 7:45 a.m. Easter Sunday on the 600 block of West Seneca Street when a man approached her from behind and tried to “wrangle her purse from her shoulder as he ran past her.” He was unable to grab it, but then pushed the woman to the ground and a struggle ensued over the purse. He was eventually able to grab it and run away
IPD Deputy Chief Vince Monticello said, “Good old fashioned police work led to this arrest and recovery of the stolen rosary beads. Our community and police officers can certainly relate to something as personal as rosary beads being stolen as they hold deep personal meaning, especially on Easter Sunday and it gives us great satisfaction that we were able to recover them.”
Related: Ithaca elderly woman robbed while walking to church on Easter
Bradshaw is currently in custody at the Tompkins County Jail in lieu of posting $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond. He’s scheduled to appear at Ithaca City Court again at 10 a.m. Monday.