New Bedford Police Arrest Purse Snatching Suspect

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — New Bedford Police arrested man wanted in connection with a purse snatching at Market Basket.

The purse snatching occurred on December 18 at Market Basket. According to police, at around 3 p.m. that day an 82-year-old woman was loading groceries into her vehicle in the market parking lot when she was approached by a man who grabbed her pocketbook.

The woman struggled with the suspect, but was overpowered. The man quickly fled on foot.

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Detective Roberto Dacunha began investigating and discovered the suspect had used one of the victim’s stolen credit cards to attempt several transactions at North End businesses, police said.

Officers used surveillance footage from the businesses to identify the suspect as Isaias Ferreira DaCosta, 31. An arrest warrant was issued and all units were advised to be on the lookout for the suspect.

On December 23, Detectives Nathaniel Almeida and Jonathan Miranda located DaCosta in the area of Holly Street and Ashley Boulevard and placed him under arrest.

DaCosta is charged with unarmed robbery of a victim over 60 years old, and five counts of attempting to use the victim's credit card. He also had three other warrants for his arrest.

"Officers try their best to solve all robberies; however, when the perpetrator is someone who targets the elderly, it strikes a particular chord with everyone involved,” Police Chief Paul Oliveira said.

“I'm grateful for the effort of all the officers involved, from the patrol officers who took the initial report and comforted the victim, to the major crime detectives who tracked the surveillance video, and finally, the narcotics detectives who could locate him and place him under arrest. Great work,” Oliveira said.