http://www.wdrb.com/story/36863391/...-her-purse-stolen-said-she-hopes-he-gets-helpA woman who bought a homeless man lunch at McDonald's on Tuesday only to have him steal her purse hopes he gets the help he needs.
Shawn Mattingly is behind bars at Metro Corrections for the crime, and the woman, who didn't want to be identified, said she had a bad feeling when she left her purse at the table. When she came back, it was gone.
"God wanted him locked up for some reason," the woman said. "He was going to do something even worse to someone else."
On Tuesday, she said Mattingly approached her at a McDonald's in Buechel asking for money. She said she told him, she'd buy him food instead.
"I told him to order what he wanted, and he ordered a hamburger and fries," the woman said.
After she paid, he thanked her for the food and sat down and ate.
"Normally, I take my purse with me wherever I go," she said. "But this time, I didn't."
The woman said after they got the food, she helped her special needs daughter in the bathroom and left her purse with her 85-year-old mother who was at the table. Police said Mattingly then took her purse and ran. She chased after him, and police caught Mattingly on a street nearby about 30 minutes later.
"He just opened my wallet and took all the bills that were in it," the woman said, adding that it amounted to about $50. "He left the change in it, just took the bills."
Police said Mattingly admitted to taking the woman's purse and said he planned to sell her phone to get drug money. Officers said they found a heroin syringe in his backpack.
"I would hope that he would get help, whatever physically, mentally, whatever," the woman said.
Would you leave him alone with your 85-Year-Old Mother?