Purse snatcher caught by speed trailer, alert officer, coincidence

Victims gets purse, cellphone back

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Just 30 minutes after a woman was robbed and run over at the Titusville Walmart on Old Cheney Highway, Titusville police had a suspect in custody

News 6 learned exclusively that the quick arrest was a combination of coincidence, irony and good police work.

On April 14, according to police, the woman left her purse on the front seat of her car,which was in the Walmart parking lot, while she returned her shopping cart.

A man reached into the car, grabbed the purse, and tried to drive off in his car but the woman noticed and tried to stop him, even placing her hands on the hood.

The man drove off and drove into the woman, knocking her to the ground.

Almost immediately, witnesses reported to police a partial tag and car description - a 2006 Hyundai Sonata, police said.

Within minutes, crime analysts were able to match the tag to a vehicle registered to a Titusville resident who is known to police.

Det. Cpl. Bryan Nelson heard the suspect's information over the radio.

"And I start to run with it," Nelson said. "I go over to that person's house, it's a vacant unit, the vehicle's not there, so I started reaching out to my sources off the road."

Nelson said he knew the suspect - Christopher Lynn Braun - because he'd recently had a run-in with him.
"And I find out that he had recently moved to the north end of Titusville, right up the road here."

Nelson said he visited Braun's new address, but Braun was not home.

"However, we decided to stay in the area," Nelson said. "So what we did is came back up the road and parked where a tree is" on Dixie Avenue.

Almost as soon as Nelson parked, he noticed a speed trailer positioned on the side of Dixie Avenue light up and the numbers began to rapidly climb.

"We look down the road, see a vehicle possibly matching the description, it's a black Hyundai 4-door," Nelson said. "As we're making our U-turn, we're looking at the sign, and it's going up from 30, 40, over 60 miles an hour. And we hit the gas and went after the vehicle."

Nelson said by the time he caught up, the Hyundai was parked in Braun's driveway.

Nelson said Braun got out of the car, gave up, confessed to the crime, and even took Nelson to where he'd thrown the woman's purse into some bushes and her cellphone into a tree.

Nelson called the Titusville Fire Department to assist with the phone. Firefighters raised the ladder, retrieved the phone, and returned it, along with the purse, to the woman, who suffered only minor injuries.

Photo Credit: George Bortle
Photo Credit: George Bortle
Photo Credit: George Bortle

Nelson said the speed trailer is what called his attention to the speeding Hyundai and, coincidentally, it happened to be set up on Dixie Avenue because neighbors had complained about speeders on the street.

"And it is ironic because you have a device out here that's paid for through forfeiture funds taken from criminals," Nelson said. "Paid for by the bad guys to catch other people breaking the law!"

Braun was released from jail Tuesday after pleading no contest to burglary, grand theft, and leaving the scene of an accident with injury. A judge withheld adjudication and sentenced him to probation.


About the Author:

Erik von Ancken anchors and reports for News 6 and is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist in the prestigious and coveted "On-Camera Talent" categories for both anchoring and reporting.