Bond set in Palatine armed robbery

A convicted armed robber accused of doing it again was ordered held on $150,000 bond Saturday -- days after prosecutors say he snatched a shopper's purse while wielding a gun.

William Bainer III, 35, of Hanover Park is charged with armed robbery and aggravated robbery in connection with an alleged altercation in the parking lot of a store at 1311 N. Rand Road in Palatine, prosecutors said.

Authorities said Bainer was in the lot just before 4 p.m. Nov. 3 when he approached a woman and grabbed her black leather purse. When she held on and yelled for help, Bainer pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants, Assistant State's Attorney Adam Klugman said, and hit her on the arm with it.

Bainer grabbed the purse and drove away in a black Dodge Charger, authorities said. The purse contained $30 cash, a cell phone and credit cards, police said.

Police found him later; he was identified in a lineup and gave written and verbal statements, Klugman said.

Bainer, a fork lift operator, was convicted of armed robbery in 1991 and sentenced to 15 years in jail. He also has been convicted on a misdemeanor charge of resisting a police officer out of DuPage County, authorities said.