AICHI (TR) – Over the past month, Aichi Prefectural Police have logged two dozen bag-snatching incidents in Nagoya. Now, they think they have a prime culprit — and it was through a little help.
At just before 8:00 p.m. on August 12, Hiroshi Ishizawa, 50, used his motorbike to approach a woman walking with her family.
As Ishizawa snatched her bag, the woman’s husband, Yuya Nishimoto, grabbed the back of the motorbike. As he held on, he was dragged for a couple of meters before both he and Ishizawa tumbled to the ground.
“A man wearing a full face covering and all black was approaching my wife,” Nishimoto recalled to Nippon News Network (Aug. 12). I thought something was going to happen. So, I took a quick look and recognized the snatching suspect. I clung to the back of the motorcycle and shook the man off.”
Nishimoto, who suffered cuts to his right wrist and knees, and other pedestrians then held down Ishizawa.
“The man was in a rage, so we held him down and asked passersby to cooperate with us in subduing him,” Nishimoto said.
I did it for the money”
Between July and August 12, there have been at least 27 such incidents of purse-snatching by persons on motorbikes, police said.
Police have accused Ishizawa robbery resulting in injury. “I did not intend to injure [Nishimoto],” Ishizawa said in partially denying the charges. “Sine the end of July, I carried out these bag-snatchings about 10 times. I did it for the money.”
About 3 minutes before that incident occurred, another bag-snatching incident took place on a street near Nagoya Station.
In that case, a 27-year-old woman had her bag snatched by a person on a motorcycle. Upon his arrest, Ishizawa was holding her bag.
Based on security camera footage, police are investigating the suspect as having been involved in most of those purse-snatching incidents. He is believed to have changed his motorcycle and clothing between capers to avoid detection.
