Teen touched woman’s rear, tried to steal her purse on Hilton Head. Then goes to cops

A Virginia teen was arrested after grabbing a woman’s rear, trying to take her purse, and running away from officers after midnight Sunday in the Coligny Circle area on Hilton Head Island, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

The victim was walking from the Coligny Plaza Shopping Center toward a restaurant on North Forest Beach Drive when the 17 year old ran up behind her, grabbed her behind, and attempted to snatch her purse, the report said.

He wasn’t able to grab the purse, so he kept running before hopping on a bike and riding it to Coligny Plaza Shopping Center, the report said.

While deputies were searching for the suspect, a shirtless man approached them, the report said. While speaking with the teen, deputies saw a balled up shirt matching the description of the one the suspect was wearing nearby and asked the shirtless man to sit on the steps.

The teen ran to a nearby parking lot instead but got tangled up in bushes and vines near the fence and was caught and arrested, the report said.

The suspect was charged with fleeing to evade and second degree assault and battery, the report said.

The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette do not name people charged with misdemeanor crimes unless they are in a position of public trust or authority in the community.