INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A pair of purse snatchers were in Indian River County jail Thursday after a good Samaritan witnessed the robbery and called 911 to aid in their eventual capture.The victim, Reva Brugnoli, 65, had her purse stolen while outside of Macy’s at the Indian River Mall. She said a young man, later identified as 19-year-old William Barnes of Micco, grabbed her purse, ran to a waiting vehicle later determined to be driven by James Young II 26, also of Micco. Dianna Minner of Vero Beach, viewed the incident in the parking lot at the Indian River Mall and followed the suspects while on her cell phone with 911 dispatchers. The two men had sped out of the parking lot and were heading west on State Road 60.About a half-an-hour into the search, Deputy Wolfgang Weber with the Sheriff’s Office Traffic Unit, spotted and followed the vehicle, a white Toyota Camry. The vehicle was stopped near the intersection of County Roads 510 and 512. Barnes and Young were positively identified by Minner at the scene of the traffic stop.The two were arrested and admitted to taking part in the robbery. They were booked into the county jail and charged with a third degree felony, robbery by sudden snatching. They will be held without bond until their first court appearance.
