Prosecutor said Rodriguez, who was tackled and restrained by bystanders, has had 12 incarcerations.
Reynaldo RodriguezSPRINGFIELD – A 65-year-old state Department of Developmental Services employee testified Friday she struggled to get her purse away from a man who grabbed it, and then chased the man “until I got to the point I couldn’t run anymore.”
The woman testified Friday at a hearing on the state’s request to hold Reynaldo Rodriguez, the man accused of stealing the purse, without right to bail for 90 days on the grounds he is too dangerous to be released under any conditions.
“I didn’t want him to take my pocketbook,” the woman said, pointing out Rodriguez in the courtroom.
District Court Judge William P. Hadley ordered Rodriguez, who was tackled and restrained by bystanders, including a postal worker, about 11 a.m. on April 8, held without right to bail.
Assistant District Attorney John Bryson called the woman and one bystander to testify at the hearing. Defense lawyer Johnathan R. Elliott presented no witnesses but argued the judge should set a bail of $10,000 for Rodriguez, 34, of 112 Stockman St.
Bryson said Rodriguez has 19 separate entries on his criminal record and has had 12 separate incarcerations, including one at state prison. He got out of jail in February on the latest offense.
Rodriguez faces charges of assault to rob while armed, assault on a person age 65 or older, and assault and battery on a public employee.
The woman said she went to her car, parked in front of the medical building located at 125 Liberty St., and put her pocketbook in the back seat.
“Someone was behind me, he shoved me and grabbed my purse out the car,” the woman said. “I was holding onto it. I started to scream.”
She said the man pushed her and she grabbed his legs, but the man shoved her and took the pocketbook. She said the man dropped her purse as he was running across the street.
Philip Levesque, who was in his vehicle waiting for his mother to come out of the medical center, testified he could hear someone yelling for help. Then he saw a man run by with a pocketbook, being chased by a woman.
He drove his car out of the lot and saw other people getting out of their cars to help.
Police said at the time of the arrest the Postal Service worker, 57-year-old Jeffrey Atkins, of Agawam, parked his mail truck at 191 Chestnut St., chased Rodriguez down and confronted him.
When Rodriguez pushed him, Atkins tackled and the two fought on the ground, police said. Bystanders came to Atkins’ aid.
Rodriguez, who was found to have a box cutter, was detained by the group until police officers arrived.
The woman said she never saw a weapon and the man did not say a word to her.