Man convicted in Macon purse snatching outside Thomaston Road Publix

Prosecutors say the incident happened August 21, 2022, when a woman stopped at the store after church.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A man was convicted of robbery and battery after a purse snatching outside a Publix on Thomaston Road, according to the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors say the incident happened August 21, 2022, when a woman stopped at the store after church. Andrew Gene Thomas III grabbed her purse straps and dragged her to the ground when she resisted before fleeing with the bag.

Bystanders chased Thomas from the scene, and an off-duty officer who witnessed the incident from a patrol vehicle apprehended him.

During the trial, which began Monday, prosecutors presented surveillance video of the attack and a confession in which Thomas said, “I snatched her purse.”

Thomas, who represented himself, did not contest the evidence and instead accused the District Attorney’s Office and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office of staging the incident, according to prosecutors.

The jury returned guilty verdicts on charges of robbery by sudden snatching and battery after about 12 minutes of deliberation.

Sentencing is pending. Thomas faces up to 20 years in prison on the robbery conviction and up to 12 months for the battery charge.

District Attorney Anita Howard released the following statement:

“An innocent victim went to church and stopped for groceries only to be violently attacked in broad daylight. She waited nearly four years for justice, and this jury delivered it in 12 minutes. Our system of justice depends on decorum, integrity, and a commitment to the truth. This jury upheld all three. We are grateful to the citizens who gave chase, the off-duty officer who acted without hesitation, and the Sheriff’s Office for their work. We are prayerful that the Court will sentence based on the full weight of what this victim endured.”