Transient arrested for allegedly stealing woman’s purse after her car crash

A 61-year-old homeless man was arrested for allegedly stealing a crash victim’s purse and credit cards after she was removed from her vehicle by paramedics in Burbank, authorities said Thursday.

Burbank Police Department officers responded about 12:30 p.m. April 28 to the area of Front Street and Magnolia Boulevard after receiving reports of a two-car collision nearby, according to a department statement.

Authorities located an injured man in the driver’s seat of a blue sedan in the area, and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. His name was not released.

The woman suffering serious, but non-life-threatening injuries was found in the driver’s seat of a white SUV, and she was taken to a hospital by paramedics, according to the BPD.

The woman’s husband later reported to police that her purse was stolen from her vehicle following the collision. He also found that her credit cards had been used at several establishments in the Glendale and Burbank areas.

Police reviewed surveillance images from the site of the collision as well as the establishments where the credit cards were used, and identified the suspect as Harayer Haghoubian, who had given a witness account to officers on the day of the collision.

Haghoubian was arrested about 11:30 a.m. at an encampment where he resides, near the site of the collision, according to the BPD.

Haghoubian allegedly admitted in an interview to using the woman’s credit cards, and was booked for identity theft.

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