Purse-snatcher dragged woman over 250 yards in robbery at League City Kroger, police say

LEAGUE CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- A man accused of several purse snatching robberies in the Houston area -- including an incident where a woman was dragged down the road -- has been arrested and charged.

Jamell Anthony Hurst, 30, is accused of getting into a 61-year-old woman's vehicle and stealing her purse on Nov. 14 at the Kroger located at 200 S. Egret Bay Boulevard in League City.

League City police said the woman attempted to get her purse back from the suspect as he drove away. She was dragged approximately 250 yards out of the parking lot and northbound on Egret Bay.

Police said Hurst drove into traffic with the victim hanging onto the outside of his car. He reportedly swerved toward another vehicle to knock the woman loose from the car by striking her body into the rear of another vehicle.

The woman was left lying in the road with multiple lacerations and contusions, investigators said.

Hurst was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery on Nov. 22. He's being held in the Galveston County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

He was arrested after League City police collaborated with Webster police, Houston police and Kroger's Organized Retail Crime Division.

Law enforcement said Hurst is a person of interest in over a dozen purse snatching robberies in the Houston area.