An employee at a South Fraser Way business was bitten last week by a woman who then made off with her phone, police say.
Sgt. Judy Bird said the female employee was using her phone while taking a break outside of her workplace in a strip mall in the 32400 block of South Fraser Way last Wednesday when a woman who had a bag full of stolen goods emerged from a business.
That woman, Bird said, apparently thought the worker on her phone was trying to take a picture of her, and tried to snatch the device away. When the 22-year-old victim resisted, the suspect hit and bit the other woman, then seized the phone and fled the scene.
But Bird said a good description of the suspect by witnesses allowed police to make an arrest a short time later.
Adelle Philis Lynn Pine was subsequently charged with robbery and assault causing bodily harm. She was released on bail this week.
Pine has a long criminal history, with multiple previous convictions for theft.
Two days before her arrest on Wednesday, Pine had pleaded guilty to two separate charges of theft under $5,000. The thefts in question had been committed on May 3 and May 12. She was sentenced to one year of probation on both charges.