89-year-old woman dents car with cane, aids in capture of Pa. purse-snatchers

(CBS/AP) NEW CASTLE, Pa. - Pennsylvania police say they matched the dents in a car with a cane belonging to an 89-year-old woman, who helped them catch a pair of purse-snatchers.

Police in New Castle say the elderly woman used her cane to dent the car of two people who stole her friend's purse, and authorities tracked downed the thieves' getaway car thanks partly to the cane's imprint.

New Castle police Chief Thomas Sansone says the 89-year-old and her 82-year-old friend were accosted outside a pizza shop Sunday, and that 27-year-old Jerry Brown Jr. grabbed the purse but couldn't get away before the older woman whacked the car's trunk.

Police found the car, and, based on the description of the robber - and the dents matching the shape of the cane - they arrested Brown and 21-year-old Tatiana Vargas.

They're jailed in Lawrence County on robbery charges and on warrants for unrelated crimes.