A man has been arrested in connection with a purse snatching reported in the Micronesia Mall parking lot in December, according to a court affidavit.
Prosecutors allege Jason Steve Herckes grabbed a woman’s purse from her hands on the evening of Dec. 26, 2025, before fleeing in a vehicle.
According to the affidavit, Guam Police Department officers responded around 7:45 p.m. to a report of theft in the mall parking lot. The victim, told officers she was leaving work and walking to her vehicle when she opened the front door and a male grabbed her purse and ran.
She reported the suspect fled in a silver SUV with license plate “YN7002,” which then drove out of the lot. The purse was valued at about $20 and contained $80 in cash, according to the affidavit.
Officers reviewed mall surveillance footage with security personnel, which investigators said corroborated the victim’s account.
Later that night, officers traced the vehicle’s license plate to a registered owner in Dededo and went to the address. There, they found a vehicle matching the description. Officers spoke with the registered owner, who told them he had loaned the vehicle around 6:30 p.m. that day to someone he knew as Jason Herckes, also known as “Powers.” He said Herckes returned the vehicle around 8:15 p.m. Herckes was not located at that time.
On Jan. 30, officers conducted a traffic stop and determined Herckes was a passenger in the vehicle. He agreed to accompany officers to the Dededo Precinct Command for an interview after being told he was a person of interest, the affidavit states.
During the interview, Herckes provided a written statement admitting he grabbed the purse from the victim’s hands. He said she tried to pull it back, but he pulled harder and took it, according to investigators.
Herckes was charged with felony third-degree robbery and misdemeanor theft of property. He was detained on $5,000 cash bail.