PITTSBURGH — Authorities said a 22-year-old woman fought off a would-be robber Wednesday when the man tried to steal a few loose dollars that were hanging out of her pocket.
Mara Makarczyk told Channel 11’s Rick Earle that she had just walked out of a store on Liberty Avenue when the man approached her and tried to sell her a watch.
“I told him I wasn't interested. He pushed a little more and then he leaned in and grabbed money out of my pocket,” she said.
Makarczyk said she fought back and twisted the man's arm, and he eventually surrendered the $6 and ran away.
She then ran to nearby Ullrich Shoe Repair and the owner, Rex Streno, called police, who confiscated surveillance video of the man crossing Liberty Avenue before he approached Makarczyk.
Streno said he spotted the same man walking by his store several hours later. He called police, and Harold Durant was arrested and charged with robbery.
“He didn't have any kind of weapon on him, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal,” said Makarczyk. “Most of the shock came from that it was pretty easy for me to get my money back, I guess.”
WPXI
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