After Failing to Steal Car, Thief Goes to Church -- Where He Failed to Steal Praying Woman's Purse

The man pictured is 44-year-old Ronald Slavin, and he sucks at crime.On Friday, Slavin was arrested for trying to burglarize a car and assaulting the officers who arrested him. He was treated at Arizona Regional Hospital for injuries suffered during his arrest, but he checked himself out. That's when he headed to...

By James King

March 7, 2011

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The man pictured is 44-year-old Ronald Slavin, and he sucks at crime.

On Friday, Slavin was arrested for trying to burglarize a car and assaulting the officers who arrested him. He was treated at Arizona Regional Hospital for injuries suffered during his arrest, but he checked himself out. That's when he headed to a church, where he allegedly failed to steal a woman's purse as she was praying a few feet away.

According to authorities, after his hospital release, Slavin went to the Queen of Peace Catholic Church at 141 North MacDonald Street in Mesa with the apparent intention of continuing his crime spree.

As a 51-year-old woman was praying, she heard Slavin rifling through some papers she had placed on the pew. Slavin then grabbed the woman's purse and tried to run off.

The woman tried to stop him, but he threw her to the ground before exiting the church.

Cops found Slavin hiding behind a business on Main Street, not far from the church. The woman's purse was found in a nearby dumpster.

Slavin was booked into a Maricopa County jail on several charges, including burglary and robbery. The woman suffered minor injuries to her knee.

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