Woman pleads guilty to trying to rob elderly lady’s purse
By Delon Shurtz on May 6, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com Gwyneth North Peigan quickly discovered she was mistaken when she told a police officer he couldn’t arrest her.North Peigan was fleeing from the officer last January after trying to rob an elderly woman of her purse.
The officer witnessed the robbery at about 2:20 p.m. Jan. 1 as he was patrolling along Stafford Drive near 6 Avenue South downtown and saw North Peigan on top of a struggling 79-year-old woman whom North Peigan had attacked from behind and knocked to the ground face first. North Peigan was seen pulling on the woman’s bag and purse.
The officer heard North Peigan yelling at the woman, who told him, “that female tried to rob me of my purse.”
North Peigan fled on foot, and when the officer called her by name, yelled for her to stop and told her she was under arrest for robbery, she replied, “f— you, you don’t have the authority to arrest me.”
After a brief chase, the officer caught her and demonstrated that he did have the authority to arrest her. As he tried to handcuff North Peigan, she resisted and had to be taken to the ground.
North Peigan pleaded guilty Wednesday in Lethbridge provincial court to one count of robbery, but sentencing was adjourned until May 15 to allow time for the preparation of a pre-sentence report and Gladue report. The reports will provide the court with North Peigan’s personal circumstances, and information about her aboriginal background to help the judge determine an appropriate sentence.
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