Belleville man charged after woman punched while retrieving purse: police

A Belleville man has been charged after a woman was allegedly punched in the face while trying to retrieve her purse.

Belleville police say officers received a report on Wednesday, Aug. 26 of an assault that had occurred earlier that day in the east end of the city.

According to police, a man took the woman’s purse and walked away. When she attempted to get it back, he allegedly punched her in the face and fled.

“The purse belonged to the woman and was recovered during the incident,” a representative from the Belleville Police Service told Quinteist in response to inquiries.

Officers investigated but were unable to locate the suspect at the time.

Police returned to the area on Aug. 27 and located the man.

The 41-year-old Belleville man, who is of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with spousal assault and two counts of failing to comply with a probation order.

He was held for a bail hearing.

In response to further questions posed by Quinteist, police noted that “based on the circumstances of the domestic incident, and the information available to investigating officers, robbery charges were not pursued.”