Man Arrested After Woman Cut With Knife

A man who slashed a woman with a knife then stole her handbag is in jail charged with first-degree robbery, Spokane police said.

The attack occurred about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday outside Albertsons grocery store at 7810 N. Division.

The victim, a 46-year-old woman from Amarillo, Texas, told police she was talking on a pay telephone when a man with a bandana covering his face walked up to her.

The robber grabbed her purse. When the woman resisted, the robber pulled out a knife and sliced her hand, police said. He then ran away with the handbag.

Two men at nearby Swackhammer’s restaurant heard the woman screaming and saw the suspect running past. They tackled the man, identified by police as Billy Thomas, 26, of Coeur d’Alene, and held him until officers arrived.

The woman’s injury required medical attention, but she was not hospitalized. , DataTimes MEMO: Cut in Spokane edition