Two people were arrested and charged with two purse-snatching incidents. One of the men was arrested following a police chase in Dallas County.
According to an announcement by the Frisco Police, Tyler Payne, 31, and Thomas Cofer, 41, are being charged with theft and aggravated robbery in regard to the two incidents at Target and H-E-B back in Nov. 2022.
Payne was arrested on Jan. 9, after a police chase in Dallas County. Police said Payne was suspected in a separate aggravated robbery in Frisco that same Monday. After the arrest by Dallas Police, Payne was taken into custody by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office. Cofer was already being held in a Mississippi jail at the time, for unrelated offenses. He is currently awaiting extradition.
According to Frisco Police, prior to committing the robbery offenses in Frisco, the subjects escaped from custody in Oklahoma and were later re-arrested in Mississippi. Payne later escaped from custody again and returned to Frisco to commit an aggravated robbery on Jan. 9, 2023.
The purse snatching incident at a Frisco Walmart was not related to the other two crimes, but police were able to track down and charge that suspect as well.
“With the assistance of the FPD School Resource Officer Unit, Frisco detectives were able to identify the 16-year-old male suspect on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 16,” Frisco Police said in a statement. “That afternoon, the juvenile was taken into custody without incident and subsequently transported to the Collin County Juvenile Detention Center.”
The two robbery incidents remain under investigation by Frisco Police. Anyone with related information is instructed to contact the Frisco Police Department at (972) 292-6010. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by texting FRISCOPD and the tip to 847411 (tip411) or by downloading the Frisco PD app on personal devices.
