BALDWIN PARK — A teenage boy and a woman were behind bars Sunday on suspicion of robbing a local attorney of his wallet at a Starbucks coffee shop before he chased after them and got it back.
Sandra Lopez, 20, of La Puente and a 16-year-old La Puente boy, whose name was withheld due to his age, were arrested on suspicion of robbery several hours after Saturday’s 9:50 a.m. incident at the Starbucks on Baldwin Park Boulevard, just south of Francisquito Avenue, Baldwin Park police Sgt. Mike Hemenway said.
Paul Cook, 31, a lawyer and local activist known to many as “The Boxing Lawyer,” said he was sitting at a table paying bills online with his computer prior to the crime. His wallet was on the table, within arms reach.
“I saw (the teen) snatch my wallet,” he said. “I remember my thought so clearly. It was, ‘Oh, hell no.’”
Cook said he kicked off the flip-flops he was wearing and chased after the thief barefoot as he fled with the stolen wallet. The teen ran toward a nearby car, with a woman waiting at the wheel.
“The suspects didn’t expect me to run so fast,” Cook said. In addition to being an amateur boxer, “I run 7 miles every other day.”
Cook reached the car and reached through the passenger window to grab hold of his wallet, which the teen robber was still clutching, he said. The boy ultimately released the wallet while telling the female driver to “Go, go.”
Cook said he, as well as another customer of the Starbucks, managed to get the license plate number of the fleeing car to report to police.
Officers quickly responded within minutes and tracked the suspects down within hours.
Officers found and arrested Lopez and the boy about 4 p.m. Saturday at a home in the 15000 block of Valley Boulevard in Industry, according to police and Los Angeles County booking records.
“I’m very grateful from the bottom of my heart to the Baldwin Park Police Department for their dedication and compassion,” Cook said. “I’m impressed.”
And the coffee shop provided him with a free Caramel Frappuccino as he dealt with the police, he added.
According to county booking records, Lopez was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail pending her scheduled arraignment Tuesday in West Covina Superior Court.