By KEITH EPPS
A Stafford County man was arrested Saturday night after he snatched a purse from his own mother, police said.
Sheriff Charles Jett said a citizen called the Sheriff's Office about 8 p.m. after hearing a woman screaming in the parking lot of the Fas Mart at U.S. 1 and Layhill Road in southern Stafford.
The woman told Deputy Scott Myers that her 40-year-old son, who lives with her in nearby Heritage Commons, had grabbed her purse and fled.
Jett said the 61-year-old woman told police her son is addicted to drugs and had been trying to get money from her to purchase some.
She refused, so he grabbed her purse and ran out the front door with the mother in hot pursuit.
The mother and others saw the suspect hop into a car that was being driven by his girlfriend, Jett said.
First Sgt. Ryan Pangretic stopped the car a short time later heading south on U.S. 1 near the Falmouth Bridge. The son and the purse were in the car and were taken into custody.
Matthew Dewayne Leake, 40, was charged with robbery, petty larceny and 11 counts of credit card theft, Jett said. There were 11 credit cards in the purse, Jett explained.
The girlfriend was not charged because there was no evidence she was involved in the robbery, Jett said.
Leake was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail, where he is being held without bond.
At the time of his arrest, Leake was free on bond for a pending drug charge, court records show.
He was arrested Feb. 11 on a charge of possessing a controlled substance and has a jury trial scheduled for Oct. 25.
To reach KEITH EPPS:
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com