A man who allegedly robbed and assaulted a 94-year-old woman at a pharmacy in Germantown last month was charged with multiple offenses Tuesday, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said.
Janhyi Boyd, 20, attacked the woman on Oct. 18 while she was waiting to have a prescription filled at the Rite Aid on the 100 block of West Chelten Ave., police said. The woman, identified Tuesday as Jenny Pringle, had been seated in a chair inside the pharmacy.
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Boyd allegedly grabbed Pringle's purse and attempted to yank it from her, but she held on and wound up being dragged across the floor of the pharmacy. Boyd grabbed $42 in cash from an envelope that fell out of the woman's purse and then fled, authorities said. Police were able to arrest Boyd a few blocks from the scene.
Pringle suffered minor injuries to her knees and a cut on her hand. She received assistance from a pharmacy worker at the store.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner invited Pringle to attend Tuesday's press conference announcing the charges against Boyd. Krasner said Pringle had confronted Boyd and demanded that he give her money back before Boyd fled the Rite Aid.
"Obviously, we cannot have people preying on our seniors," Krasner said. "We need them. They need us, and so it has been a priority in this office for some time. This is just one of many examples of cases where we have given the proper special attention that a senior victim deserves on a violent crime."
The investigation was handled by the D.A.'s Elder Justice Unit. The money stolen from Pringle was recovered from Boyd and returned to her.
Boyd is charged with robbery, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and evading arrest.
