An 18-year-old man has been arrested for three purse stabbings in Upper Darby after officers found him in a Philadelphia hospital suffering from a stab wound he received in the most recent robbery Tuesday night, police said.
The suspect, Kamar Hawkes, initially told nurses and doctors that he suffered a deep cut to his left hand when a dog bit him, Upper Darby Police Chief Michael Chitwood said.
"He then initially said he was bitten by a dog but upon further questioning, he admitted to robbing the woman," Chitwood said of a robbery that occurred on Springton Road about 10:30 p.m.
He later allegedly admitted to purse snatchings of two other women in Upper Darby earlier this month, Chitwood said.
During the robbery Tuesday night, Chitwood said the victim initially pulled a knife, but that Hawkes took it from her during a struggle. Both the woman and the suspect suffered knife wounds.
The victim needed six stitches in her forearm, and is recovering, Chitwood said.
Upper Darby officers immediately put out a call to the county communications center, which asked all local hospitals if anyone suffering from a stab wound had come into the emergency room, Chitwood said.
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"Lo and behold at the Mercy Philly Hospital located on 54th Street, they told (Delaware Communications) there was a male in there who claimed he was bitten by a dog," Chitwood said. "But this was a knife wound."
Hawkes has also been charged for robberies on May 11 and May 17.
In the first purse snatching, Hawkes allegedly ripped off a 94-year-old woman as she walked into a house on Bayard Road. On May 17, he allegedly robbed a woman on Huntley Road.
