Purse-snatch victims applaud Nassau arrests

Joan Behrens couldn't contain her joy as she learned that Nassau County police arrested two men they suspect were behind a string of Nassau purse snatchings last year, including hers.

"I'm thrilled beyond words," said Behrens, 59, who was attacked in the driveway of her Merrick home on Nov. 10. "I hope they get convicted and serve their time."

Behrens knows all too well about the lingering effects of the robberies, which targeted women in their driveways and on the street from Oct. 23 to Nov. 30 and again on Dec. 30.

Behrens, a pharmacy technician, had been getting packages from her car when she heard footsteps and felt a tug on her purse. She said she held on as the man - his face covered by a dark-colored sweatshirt hood - yanked her purse, pulling her to the pavement and ripping her pants. When he finally got the purse away from her, she said, he ran with it into a waiting car.

Behrens lost $550 in cash - holiday shopping money - as well as a ring, three camera memory cards, credit cards, her driver's license and other items.

The two men arrested have yet to be accused in the incident involving Behrens.

Since the robbery, Behrens said she's had trouble sleeping, constantly thinks about being attacked again and often finds herself scared to go outside, even during daytime.

Two weeks ago, she tried to take out the trash but was paralyzed by fear. She couldn't shake the feeling that her attackers might come back. It got so bad, she said, she would often feel she was about to be attacked.

"To live in that kind of fear is horrible," Behrens said.

Behrens was one of at least two women who fought with the purse snatchers. Baldwin resident Maureen Herman, 56, was assaulted in her driveway a few weeks after Behrens. In an earlier interview with Newsday, Herman said she managed to keep her purse, but only after she kicked the robber and screamed.

News of the arrests Tuesday in a separate Friday purse snatching made Behrens feel safer, she said. "To know that maybe I can overcome it is a great release," she said.

Behrens is hoping the arrests will be her first step toward healing. "I'm just so happy it won't happen to anyone else."