Glendale: Man Faces Murder Charge After Allegedly Running Over Elderly Woman During Purse Snatching

A pattern of targeting the elderly

Ali Hchaimi, 23, faces a first-degree murder charge after prosecutors say he ran over an elderly woman with his car during a purse snatching in Glendale on June 20. The victim died at the hospital. Her husband witnessed the attack.

A Glendale police spokesperson, Jose Santiago, said Hchaimi approached the couple as they stopped at a home for sale near 59th Avenue and Deer Valley Road. He told the woman she had dropped a key. When she approached his car, he grabbed her purse.

"He's holding onto it as he's holding onto it. There's a struggle. He takes off in his car, and during that exchange, she ends up underneath the car," Santiago said.

A state prosecutor told the court that Hchaimi ran the victim over from head to toe. The prosecutor said there were tire marks on her head.

A week earlier, a second robbery

Just five days before the fatal incident, prosecutors say Hchaimi committed a similar robbery targeting another elderly woman. According to police, he was inside a credit union in Peoria when he overheard a woman withdraw $5,000 in cash. He followed her home.

The victim told investigators she noticed the same car along her route before it appeared again near her neighborhood mailbox.

"Ali Hchaimi pulls up next to her, compliments her on his clothing, and makes small talk with her," Santiago said. "She kind of plays it off. And then at one point, he approaches her car, goes in her passenger side, steals her purse, and takes off."

The purse contained the $5,000 in cash plus medications critical to the victim's health. Prosecutors said Hchaimi discarded the purse after the theft.

The arrest and the court appearance

Investigators used footage from the Real Time Crime Center to identify Hchaimi's dark red sedan. Police allege he had swapped license plates to avoid detection. Officers arrested him within three hours of the woman's death.

Hchaimi initially denied involvement. He claimed he had been kidnapped and tied up in the back of a car, according to Santiago. Surveillance video contradicted his account.

Hchaimi appeared in Maricopa County Superior Court on June 22 for an initial hearing on two separate cases. The charges include:

• First-degree murder, a Class 1 felony
• Robbery, a Class 3 felony
• A separate robbery count, a Class 4 felony

In court, Hchaimi spoke in English before requesting an Arabic translator. He told the judge he could not stay in closed rooms and asked for house arrest at his mother's home with an ankle monitor.

"I cannot stay in closed places, in closed rooms. Perhaps maybe the best option is to put me, uh, if possible, to be held in custody somehow at my mother's home or something," Hchaimi said through the translator, according to ABC15.

The judge denied the request. A judge set bail at $1.25 million cash-only in the murder case and $50,000 cash-only in the robbery case. Mandatory electronic monitoring was ordered. Additional release conditions include no victim contact, no return to any alleged crime scene, no possession of weapons, and no possession or consumption of drugs without a valid prescription or alcohol.

A community shaken

Neighbor Mike Vespoli told FOX10 that about 10 to 12 police officers responded to the scene on June 20.

"They were cleaning up some blood over here," Vespoli said. "It's concerning, something like that happens in the neighborhood."

Vespoli said the victims were neighbors who had recently moved to Florida but were returning to pick up belongings.

"Very quiet, very nice neighbors," Vespoli said.

A state prosecutor called Hchaimi an extreme danger to the community. The prosecutor said he engaged in a string of robberies where he preyed upon elderly victims who could not defend themselves adequately.

Hchaimi is due back in court at the Downtown Superior Court Complex on June 26.