Alleged Purse Snatchers Drag Woman with Car

A purse-snatching tag-team was apprehended last week after the man and woman allegedly took the purse of a 62-year-old Milwaukee woman and dragged her from a moving car.

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office, however, has yet to file charges against either suspect. Both are convicted felons, including Frank Lellie of Franklin, a 55-year-old man who had been convicted of more than a dozen felonies between 1991 and 2005 and has six pending felony charges from a case in 2011.

"We're working closely with the District Attorney's office to ensure they have a solid case to prosecute," Greenfield Police Chief Brad Wentlandt said.

He declined further comment stating detectives are still tying up some details.

According to the report, the victim had been playing bingo with her aunt at the United Seniors of Wisconsin Center, 4515 W. Forest Home Ave., at approximately 12:45 p.m. July 24.

When the woman and her aunt left the bingo hall, they got into separate vehicles. But the victim received a text message and went to deliver it to her aunt, leaving her vehicle unlocked and running with the windows up.

When she got back to her car, she saw a woman, allegedly Jesenia Ramirez, crouched down by the front passenger side of the vehicle, with the door opened. When Ramirez, a 25-year-old Milwaukee woman who was convicted of felony theft earlier this year, got up, she had the victim’s purse.

The victim chased Ramirez toward another car where Lellie allegedly was waiting. Ramirez got in the passenger side, and shut and locked the door. The window, however, was open and the victim reached in for her purse. When she did, Lellie stepped on the gas while the victim’s arm was pinned against the doorframe of the vehicle and she was dragged several feet.

She tried running next to the car with her arm still stuck inside and eventually freed her am, fell down on the ground and suffered scrapes to her elbow, forearm and finger.

Greenfield police eventually apprehended Ramirez and Lellie near South 10th Street and Lincoln Avenue. When they searched Lellie’s vehicle, they found the victim’s purse with an open wallet.

When they searched Ramirez, they found two separate bundles of money totaling $340 stuffed in the female suspect’s underwear. She told police she keeps her money there because she’s been robbed in the past.

Police also found several receipts for both failed and successful withdrawal attempts from a handful of gas stations and convenience stores.

During interviews with police, Ramirez admitted to police that she had taken the purse and that Lellie was the getaway driver. She told police she withdrew money using a PIN found in the victim’s purse, and that she and Lellie had been stealing money to fund their crack cocaine smoking habit

Ramirez admitted to participating in two similar events with Lellie that occurred July 18, one in West Allis and another in Milwaukee.

Lellie, who was convicted for a strong-armed robbery of an elderly woman in 2005, denied any involvement in any of the three incidents. He is in custody on parole violations.

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to an email from Patch asking why no charges had been filed.