Purse snatcher sentenced to eight years

Published 8:10 pm Friday, March 21, 2014

A Vicksburg man will spend eight years in prison for a 2010 purse snatching in which he pushed an elderly woman to the ground less than a block from the Warren County Jail.
Trey Kendell Hayes, 24, who lives on Second North Street, recently pleaded guilty to strong-armed robbery and was sentenced by Circuit Judge M. James Chaney to eight years in prison followed by five year’s probation.
He must also pay a $1,000 fine and $384.50 in court costs.
Hayes, who was represented by Jami Crews, pushed a woman older than 65 to the ground on Dec. 10, 2010 and stole her purse, according to court records.
The woman was walking with a group of people to an event at the Old Court House Museum at about 9 p.m., that night when Hayes grabbed her purse, said Bubba Bolm, curator of the museum.
A witness saw Hayes push the woman to the ground and flee, he said. The witness followed Hayes, who had trouble running because he had to regularly stop to pull up his sagging pants, Bolm said.
The witness, who was in a vehicle, pursued Hayes until he hid in a bush in front of a home before police arrived.
Hayes also pleaded guilty to attempted burglary of a dwelling and was sentenced by Chaney to eight years to run concurrently with the purse snatching sentence.
In that case, Hayes attempted to break into neighboring vacant homes in the 900 block of National Street in July.

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