A 21-year-old Poulsbo man was arrested May 26 for stealing an 82-year-old East Bremerton woman’s purse in a grocery store parking lot, saying it was “merely a joke.”

The man was held by passers-by at the East Bremerton Fred Meyer when Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at about 2:45 p.m.

The woman and her 86-year-old husband were in the Fred Meyer parking lot loading groceries into their car when the 21-year-old ran by and grabbed her purse out of the cart.

The woman yelled out that the man stole her purse and two men nearby who heard her cries and saw the 21-year-old run across the parking lot with the purse, stopped him.

He had run about 200 to 250 feet away from where the couple’s car was parked.

When deputies asked the 21-year-old why he stole the woman’s purse, he responded, “I was only playing a joke.” The 21-year-old was arrested for second-degree theft and booked into Kitsap County jail.