Robber shocks man with stun gun, steals woman’s purse

Spokane County sheriff’s deputies are looking for a robber who shocked a man with a stun gun then stole a woman’s purse on Saturday night in north Spokane. The victims were sitting in a car scratching lottery tickets at an Exxon station, 23312 N. Highway 395, around 9 p.m. when a man approached the car. The robber opened the driver’s side door, pulled the man out of the car and began to shock him with a stun gun, up and down his left arm, a news release from the sheriff’s office said. The victim, who is 44, said the robber held him against the door the entire time and did not say a word. The woman, who is 49, got out of the car, possibly because she feared it being stolen with her in it, sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Craig Chamberlin said. The robber walked over to her, grabbed her purse and pulled it off her shoulder. He then ran around the southwest corner of the building, the release said. The male victim said the robber was a black man in his late 40s, about 6 feet tall and 175 pounds. He was wearing a black windbreaker and black knitted cap. Deputies attempted to track the robber with a police dog but were unsuccessful. They found a stun gun in front of the victims’ vehicle, along with a large knife on the ground near the business. They also found the woman’s purse near the front of the business. Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for anyone providing information leading to an arrest. Persons with information should call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-800-222-TIPS, or should forward the tip via the website www.crimestoppersinlandnorthwest.org. Tipsters do not have to give their name to collect the cash reward.