LEAGUE CITY — Two suspects have been arrested in connection with a violent purse-snatching outside a League City grocery store earlier this month.

Police said the incident happened September 9 at the H-E-B on South Gulf Freeway. A 70-year-old man and his 67-year-old wife told officers that a woman in a gray Honda CR-V grabbed the wife’s purse from the passenger side of the vehicle. During the struggle, the husband was dragged and knocked to the ground, suffering minor injuries as the suspects fled.

Investigators said the couple later discovered unauthorized charges on their credit cards at businesses in Houston. Witness statements and security footage helped officers identify the suspects as 48-year-old Christie Hughes and 47-year-old John Lemon Jr., both of Houston.

League City’s PD Business District Unit led the investigation with assistance from the department’s Special Investigations Unit, the Houston Police Department’s Southwest Crime Suppression Team, and the Missouri City Police Department.

On September 19, officers located the suspects in Houston. Hughes was arrested during a traffic stop on U.S. 90, while Lemon was taken into custody at a residence on Ormandy Street. Both face charges of aggravated robbery, with bond set at $250,000 each, along with additional charges of credit/debit card abuse of the elderly, with bond set at $60,000 each.

Police credited interagency cooperation for helping close the case.

Photo Courtesy: League City Police