BREWER, Maine — A Bangor woman who apparently ripped a purse out of the hands of a family member on Tuesday afternoon is facing Class A robbery charges.
“The family member attempted to keep the purse and it was physically ripped from her. She took the purse, ran and got into a car,” Brewer police Lt. Chris Martin said on Thursday.
Elizabeth Dowling, 22, who lists her address as the Ranger Inn in Bangor, was charged with robbery and theft, a Class E crime, for her actions on Tuesday.
“When they arrested her for that, they also summoned her for another theft-forgery,” Assistant District Attorney Alice Clifford said Thursday.
Those incidents reportedly occurred on Sept. 15 in Bangor and Brewer and resulted in Dowling being charged with theft by unauthorized taking, forgery and theft by deception.
The District Attorney’s Office also had paperwork on her for burglary of a dwelling, a Class B crime, that occurred in Orrington on Sept. 16, Clifford said.
Police caught up with Dowling after she returned to the Lambert Road address where the snatched purse was reported. The initial incident occurred at 2:15 p.m. and she was arrested about an hour later.
At the time of her arrest, “Dowling was found in possession of a stolen check that had been in the purse,” Martin said.
Dowling had her first appearance in 3rd District Court in Bangor on Wednesday and her bail was set at $300 cash, with several conditions, Clifford said.
She remained in jail on Thursday afternoon, a jail official said, and is scheduled to face the charges against her in Penobscot County Superior Court on Oct. 31.
If convicted of the physical force robbery, Dowling could face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.