Robber wrestles handbag away from woman at Stoney Ground

On Friday morning, just a little after 8, a continuous shrill cry broke the silence in the normally quiet Stoney Ground suburban community — a woman had been robbed — a thug struggled to forcibly relieve a mother of her handbag containing purse, phone and ID among other personal items.

The victim, Valcina King/Gregg from Canouan, had recently moved into the area, to facilitate her daughter who passed common entrance and who would be attending secondary school for the first time.

As a matter of fact Mrs Gregg was taking her daughter to the orientation ceremony when the robber emerged from the river near the Stoney Grounds garden. After a brief struggle, he was able to wrest the handbag from her and flee in the direction of Massy supermarket. Fortunately, the victims were not physically hurt, but emotionally traumatized by the incident.

The persistent shrieks caused all residents nearby to start looking to see what had transpired. As I live in the area and was coming outside to see what the commotion was all about, I glimpsed the robber running past my house. He made his escape by jumping on a wall adjacent to Marcelle Williams’ house which leads to the car park of Massy supermarket. I was not able to identify the robber as I only had a back view, but the surveillance camera at Massy should have caught the culprit escaping the crime scene.

The police were notified and turned up about 20 minutes after to gather evidence, and interview the victim and any witnesses. At the time of writing it is not known if the robber was apprehended or if the hand bag was retrieved.

As a result of this incident, concerned residents have decided to form a community watch/support group to help safeguard the community. A meeting is tentatively scheduled for Sunday September 16, 2018 at the Kingstown Government School. Residents from nearby communities are also invited to attend this special meeting also to be addressed by members of the local constabulary. (Submitted by: Donald De Riggs)