Purse-snatching suspect found to be fugitive from early crime

The accused purse snatcher who was captured Thursday afternoon in Elgin by a group of bystanders was wanted for fleeing the state after he was convicted of aggravated battery in Kane County, police said Friday.

Humberto Romero, 23, of 323 Summit St., Elgin, was charged in court Friday with Class 2 felony robbery, according to court records.

Romero is accused of snatching the purse of a 37-year-old Elgin woman at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of Tyler Creek Plaza.

Police said Romero knocked the woman to one knee, grabbed her purse and ran. However, a man driving a van blocked his flight and three other witnesses took Romero to the ground and held him down until police arrived.

Two of the bystanders left as soon as police arrived, police said.

Romero, who has been working for a Carpentersville landscaper, said in court Friday he had fled to California after he was convicted in a 2006 aggravated battery case and was placed on probation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement of U.S. Homeland Security had placed a hold on Romero after his arrest Thursday.

Romero is not a U.S. citizen and was told in court he can be deported if he pleads guilty to the robbery or is found guilty of the charge.

Andrew Whitfield of the Kane County state's attorney's office requested a $50,000 bond for Romero; Kane County Judge Susan Clancy Boles set his bond at $10,000.

Romero is scheduled to appear in court again on May 30 in the courtroom of Kane County Judge Timothy Shelton at the Kane County Judicial Center.