A Selma police officer happened to be at the right place at the right time to catch a larceny suspect. At 12:40am Thursday, an officer was on routine patrol on Graham Street when he spotted a man holding a purse running down the middle of the street being chased by a female.
The officer stopped and determined the man holding the purse, Calvin Jerome McCain of N. Sharpe Street, Selma had reportedly just grabbed the purse from the woman inside a room at the Knights Inn hotel a few hundred yards away. The victim was chasing after the suspect when the officer spotted them.
Police said they retrieved video surveillance footage from the motel allegedly showing McCain run out of the room being chased by the 41 year-old victim. The pocket book was returned to the victim.
The woman said her purse contained $70 but only had $50 in it when returned. Police later found a $20 bill in McCain’s pocket, which was seized as evidence.
McCain was charged with felony larceny from the person and placed in the Johnston County Jail in lieu of a $25,000 secured bond.
While at the hotel investigating the theft, police saw a hypodermic needle in plain sight on a stairway. An individual admitted the needle belonged to them and they planned to use it to ingest narcotics. The individual was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia and released at the scene. No narcotics were located.
