Suspect arrested in Bronx robbery of elderly woman in wheelchair

TREMONT, Bronx (WABC) -- A suspect has been arrested in connection with the robbery of an elderly woman in a wheelchair in the Bronx.

Police say 37-year-old Adrianne Terry committed the heartless robbery just after 2 p.m. Sunday at East 179th Street and Marmion Avenue in the Tremont section.

Terry, who has around 20 prior arrests, was charged with grand larceny.

Authorities say 85-year-old Bernice Starnes was sitting in the wheelchair when a woman grabbed her pocketbook and ran.

"We said hello, and she said hello," she said. "And then we said, 'it's a beautiful day.' Then she said, 'It sure is.'"

The purse contained cash and a bank card, and the suspect was also caught on camera later throwing the purse in a trashcan.

"And if I wasn't in this wheelchair, I would've caught her ass and put my foot up in it," Starnes said.

She was not injured, but she lost about $115. Later, officers at the 48th Precinct gave her an envelope with cash they had collected to replace it. It was a very emotional moment, with Starnes breaking down in tears at the gesture.

"That's why they're New York's best," she said. "They're the best. They're the best. They're the best."

Starnes had been saving her money, hopefully to take a cruise to Africa.

"I wanted to go back again, because I liked the animals there," she said.

She also told tales of all her decades, including a career in childcare.

"I took care of children," she said. "Little babies from the time they were born until they're 9 or 10."

The theft comes days after the NYPD arrested a man for allegedly stealing $600 from a 93-year-old woman's bra as she sat in a wheelchair inside a Manhattan store. That incident was also captured on video.