Charges against teen accused in attempted St. Paul purse-snatching dismissed

A teenager accused of trying to steal an 81-year-old woman’s purse at a St. Paul Walgreens last year has had the charges against him dismissed.

Isaiah Jamal Foster, 19, was charged with assault and aggravated robbery in connection to the Dec. 23 incident.

RELATED: Suspect charged, in custody in connection with attempted purse-snatching in St. Paul

Court records show those charges were dismissed earlier this month, with the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office saying the charges couldn’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Cell phone evidence placed Foster in Richfield — not St. Paul — at the time of the robbery, and his mother retracted a statement to police identifying him as the suspect, the attorney’s office said Monday.

A criminal complaint stated that Foster’s mother recognized his coat and turned him in to police because she “did not raise him like that.”

“It is important that the facts should always guide our decisions in the criminal justice system and not emotion,” Ramsey County Attorney’s Office spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein said in a statement. “A commitment to impartial and fair investigation, and disclosure of such evidence to the defense and court is the first line of defense to ensure the integrity of our convictions and to avoid wrongful ones.”

The attempted purse-snatching was caught on camera, and police said the victim suffered a brain bleed from hitting her head. The police investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Foster still remains charged with multiple robbery counts in Hennepin County, the attorney’s office said.