May 14, 2008 7:04 pm US/Eastern
Great-Grandmother Fights Off Would-Be Mugger
Brooklyn Woman Punched In Face, But Refuses To Go Down
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Rafaela Tlatelpa, 75, was punched in the face by a would-be mugger. But she fought back and thanks to some Good Samaritans, the culprit was caught.
CBS
A Brooklyn great-grandmother is recovering after being punched in the face by a would-be mugger near her home, and then surprising the culprit with her own bold fight back.
Rafaela Tlatelpa, 75, was on her way home Sunday morning from getting coffee in the Kensington section of the borough when a man attacked her from behind and tried to steal her purse.
"She's still scared, nervous, scared of the outside," Tlatelpa's son Manny told CBS 2.
Manny said his feisty mother, who emigrated from Mexico to New York to work as a seamstress, and has six children, 20 grandchildren, and a dozen great-grandchildren, was no match for a mugger on a bike.
"A gentleman came from behind her, punched her and tried to take her bag," said Manny. "He punched her. She went with the blow. Tough mom."
One strap of the bag the man tried to swipe was even torn loose during the struggle, yet somehow, the elderly woman gave the thug a tussle he probably didn't expect.
"She feared for her life and started yelling and saying bad things to him to keep him away from her," Manny said, translating her account of the incident.
Her yelling alerted one of her neighbors and another man who were about to drive off to work. Tlatelpa pointed out the man on the bike who'd attacked her.
"So, we chased the guy around the block and caught up to him and took him off the bike and held him until police came," said the Good Samaritan neighbor, who didn't want to be identified.
The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Roger Davis, was booked on a variety of charges, including assault.
In the meantime, the 5-foot-5 Tlatelpa is resting comfortably as she recovers.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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