At 74 years young, an Ocoee woman says purse snatchers messed with the wrong person.
Charlotte Dunaway was robbed and left on the floor of Publix Aug. 15 and has since been released from the hospital.
Dunaway said she wants to find out who did it and that the suspects were lucky she didn't have a cane with her that day.
“Well, if I had had this cane yesterday, when he took my purse, I could have taken this end. I could have caught him by the leg, pulled him off his feet, flat on his face. And, then, when he dropped my purse, I could just rake my purse over and then I could have taken this and beat him on the head with it.”
She was doing her Friday morning routine of grocery shopping with her son when she was attacked by a purse snatcher who left her on the floor of a Publix store with serious injuries.
“My body is extremely sore," Dunaway said. "I have a broken clavicle. I have bruising, I had bleeding in my brain. The bleeding has stopped now, but this whole side of my face is extremely sore and swollen. And, I have, you know, down my hip, I’m black and blue. And, you can see my hand is swollen and my thumb, it’s difficult to use these two fingers. He really did hurt me."
In addition to the physical pain, Dunaway was recovering from a broken heart; she lost her husband a few months ago.
The $200 thieves took from Dunaway weren't the only thing stolen from her. She lost her credit cards and pictures of her grandchildren, too.
“It also left [the] victim very traumatized. And, I just wonder if what he gained ... of course, he has no conscience, or he wouldn’t have done that. But when you think about what he gained and what I lost, how does that equal out?” asked Dunaway.
Daughters Kristi and Scarlett are now left to oversee Dunaway’s recovery, but they have a message for the person who did this to their mother.
“You picked the wrong family, because we’re not going to stop until we find out who you are. We are going to find out who you are,” said Dunaway's daughter, Scarlet Root.
If you have any information about who Dunaway’s purse snatcher may be, you’re asked to call CrimeLine at (800) 423-TIPS (8477), or the Orange County Sheriff's Office.