Off-duty detective nabs purse snatcher

Buy this photo

Buy this photo

Staff Report ELIZABETHTOWN — An off-duty Elizabethtown Police Department detective nabbed a purse snatcher Saturday after hearing dispatchers alert patrolmen of a robbery near Helmwood Plaza shopping center. It was around 9:15 p.m. when Elizabethtown police dispatchers sent out word that an elderly woman had been knocked to the ground and had her purse stolen. Detective Pete Chytla, who just happened to be in the area, saw a man matching the description dispatchers issued suspiciously walking between buildings in the area of Diecks Drive. Without incident, Chytla arrested the suspect, 47-year-old Elizabethtown Cherokee Lowery — charging him with first-degree robbery. Lowery was arraigned on the charge Monday morning in Hardin District Court where a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. According to statements District Judge John Simcoe made in open court, Lowery had other outstanding warrants against him at the time of his arrest and would not be eligible for immediate release from the Hardin County Detention Center even if he posted the $25,000 bond attached to the robbery charge. The elderly woman robbed suffered minor injuries to her hands and knees, EPD spokesman Virgil Willoughby said. Willoughby applauded Chytla’s off-duty arrest, which was not his first. “Pete’s the kind of guy who’ll be off for the weekend and run into the suspect five other officers are looking for,” Willoughby said. Lowery’s next schedule court appearance is a probable cause hearing June 18. The Class B felony he’s charged with is punishable by as much as 20 years imprisonment.