An investigation into multiple purse thefts in the Coachella Valley has led to the arrest of a 40-year-old Thousand Palms man, Corporal Phillip Lorton said in a release from Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
The suspect, identified as Eddie Ramirez, has been booked into the John Benoit Detention Center for robbery and multiple outstanding warrants, Lorton said.
Just days before his arrest, Thermal Station deputies responded at 6:28 p.m. on Sept. 21 to a robbery at a business on Highway 11 in La Quinta in which a man "snatched a fearful victim's purse and stole it," according to the release. Investigators identified Ramirez as the suspect but did not yet have him in custody.
On Sept. 23, members of the La Quinta Special Enforcement Team located Ramirez on Indio Boulevard in Indo with stolen property in his possession, Lorton said. He was taken into custody without incident and the stolen goods were recovered.
"Ramirez has been linked to multiple purse thefts in the cities of La Quinta, Palm Desert and the unincorporated area of Bermuda Dunes. Property related to those thefts was also found in Ramirez’s possession and recovered," Lorton said in the news release.
Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Deputy Ortiz or Deputy Martinez of Thermal Station at 760-863-8990.