Fall River Man Sentenced for Robbing 83-Year-Old Woman

FALL RIVER - A Fall River man pleads guilty to stealing a purse from an elderly woman.

The Bristol County District Attorney's Office says 34-year-old Shane Cartin pleaded guilty last week in Fall River Superior Court to one count of unarmed robbery of a person over 60 years old.

He was sentenced to five years in state prison.

The charge stems from an incident on July 19, 2016, when an 83-year-old woman had stopped outside of a building near 730 Bedford Street to rest in the shade. The woman had put her purse down between her feet when a man on a bicycle rode up to the victim and kicked her purse away from her, riding away with it.

Good Samaratins who witnessed the crime followed the suspect and were able to get the pocketbook back. A nearby state trooper working a traffic detail was flagged down and alerted to the suspect's location where he was soon arrested.