Purse thief caught at Broadway Mall in Hicksville

A thief who cops say pilfered purses at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville was caught holding the bag - literally.

Detained by the police shortly after taking two purses from a vehicle in the mall's parking lot, Douglas Alu's own backpack was found to contain all sorts of apparently stolen goods, including cell phones, mp3 music players and more, Nassau County police said.

Cops had started looking for Alu, 40, because a witness reported seeing the Hicksville man stealing the pocketbooks from the vehicle, after which he discarded the purses and kept the electronics, police said.

In addition to finding what Alu stole from the purses, authorities say, officers from the Second Precinct who arrested Alu at about 5 p.m. also found an illegal gravity knife, hypodermic needles and marijuana.

Alu is to be arraigned Sunday at First District Court in Hempstead on charges including grand larceny, criminal weapon possession, petit larceny, criminal possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest and marijuana possession.

By MATTHEW CHAYES
Posted Sunday, May 24, 2009

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