Overview
- The fatal purse snatching happened near 59th Avenue and Loop 101 on June 20 when prosecutors say 23-year-old Ali Hchaimi stole a woman’s purse, fled in a dark red sedan and ran over her as her husband watched; the victim later died at a hospital.
- Hchaimi is charged in two separate cases that include first-degree murder and robbery counts; a judge set $1.25 million cash-only bail in the murder case with mandatory electronic monitoring and $50,000 cash-only in the robbery case.
- Prosecutors say Hchaimi had an earlier incident about five days before the killing in which he followed an elderly woman from a bank, pushed her and stole a purse containing $5,000 and critical medications that were later discarded.
- Investigators used Real Time Crime Center surveillance footage to link the dark red sedan to both incidents, leading to Hchaimi’s arrest; at his initial court appearance he requested an Arabic translator and the public defender’s office was appointed.
- The prosecution emphasized public-safety concerns over an alleged pattern of elder-targeted robberies, and Hchaimi remains under strict pretrial conditions while he awaits additional hearings later this week.