Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 6, 1995 TAG: 9506060152
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium
Shenell Pressley and Calvin Williams, both 12, were among five children who were in Newport News Circuit Court to testify against Marcus E. Herbin, 29, who was convicted of robbery and maiming in the purse snatching.
Shenell and Calvin, along with Delvin Johnson, 13, Phillip Gayles, 12, and Maurice Williams, 11, were among a group of about 15 children who chased Herbin after they saw him attack Edna Moss on Feb. 19 on a street corner.
While some of the children ran after Herbin and led police to where he was hiding, others showed police where he had ditched Moss' purse.
The children's efforts were chronicled in newspapers, on local television and on ABC's ``PrimeTime Live.''
Calvin admitted to Judge Verbena Askew that he was ``sort of nervous'' about testifying. But in a clear voice, he told the court about what he saw.
``We were playing hide-and-seek,'' Calvin said. ``I saw a man snatch Mrs. Moss' purse; and then she was on the ground, so we chased him.''
Calvin said he did not know the man. But he pointed at Herbin, dressed in a bright orange jail jumpsuit, and identified him as the man he chased for two blocks that day.
Shenell testified she joined the pursuit when she saw a man running from a group of children.
``I saw my cousin running, and I started running with them,'' she said.
Shenell said she saw Herbin throw Moss' purse over a fence and continue running down the street. She said she stayed with the purse until the police could retrieve it.
Moss, who suffered a broken hip when she fell during the attack, also testified. She recounted how she was dragged alongside her daughter's car before falling. Her purse straps were wrapped around her arm, and she felt Herbin tear the purse from her, she said.
Moss, who now walks with a cane, regrets what Herbin did to her because she is not as independent as she was four months ago.
``I used to work day and night,'' she said. ``But I haven't been able to do what I used to do.''
Although he did not testify, Delvin said after the trial that if something like this happened again, he would act the same way. He also said he would come back to court to testify.
``I wanted to see that man behind bars,'' Delvin said. ``He had no business taking that lady's pocketbook and making her break her hip.''
by CNB