A 22-year-old Bronx man has been arrested for allegedly grabbing a woman's Coach purse when she took it out to hand money to a homeless person at a midtown subway station early Friday, authorities say.
The 54-year-old woman, who lives in Brooklyn, told cops she had just given the homeless person money at the 32nd Street and Fifth Avenue station when the suspect, later identified as Ousmane Diallo, grabbed her leather clutch and ran off.
A Port Authority police officer on PATH command, Joel Peixoto, chased the suspect on foot and caught up with him a block away on the Sixth Avenue side in front of the Manhattan Mall. Peixoto, a four-year veteran of the PAPD, He took Diallo into custody; the suspect was still holding the woman's bag, which had credit cards and $300 in cash cops say.
The victim was distraight but refused medical attention at the scene.
Diallo faces charges of grand larceny, robbery and criminal possession of stolen property. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.
