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(Update) Man Swiped Elderly Woman's Purse As She Tried To Help Him, East Longmeadow Police Say

Update: East Longmeadow police announced that they had arrested Nathanael Afonso on Sunday, July 9. 

Nathanael Afonso in 2018

Nathanael Afonso in 2018

Photo Credit: East Longmeadow Police

Afonso is accused of taking a woman's purse after she offered to let him use her phone last week. 

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Original: Police in Hampden County are asking the public to help them track down a man accused of robbing an elderly woman as she sat outside earlier this week. 

Nathanael Afonso, age 27, allegedly approached the woman on Wednesday, July 5, and asked to use her phone while she sat on a bench near the Big Y, East Longmeadow police said. When she reached for her purse to help him, Afonso allegedly grabbed it from her, jumped into his car, and sped away, authorities continued. 

The woman was not injured. 

Police said Afonso drives a 2006 Volvo XC70 with Massachusetts license plate number 2DL844. 

East Longmeadow police said he is known to frequent the city and several others in Hampden County. 

Do not approach him if you see him. Contact your local police department immediately, authorities said. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to do the same. 

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