'I wasn't going to let him get away with it': Dramatic moment pregnant woman ran down a fleeing man 'who stole purse from her car' in Walmart parking lot (8 Pics)

A pregnant North Carolina woman said she saw a man rifling through her SUV in an Asheville Walmart parking lot Wednesday afternoon — and that he took off running with her purse after she confronted him.

Christine Braswell, 26, said she started chasing him on foot but then had a different idea.

“Me being five months pregnant, I chased a little ways then come back, jumped in the car, threw it in gear and come across the curb and ran him over,” she told WLOS-TV. “I was not going to let him get away with it. It’s not right, it’s not fair.”

Christine Marie Braswell (above)  and Robert Edward Raines in Asheveille Police mugshots

A split second before the topless thief is smashed to the ground by the woman whose purse he stole



Blake Bennett told the station he also confronted the man, later identified as Robert Raines.

“When I walked out of Walmart, he had her purse and was pulling all of her stuff out,” Bennett told WLOS. “Then me and my friend told him to put it down and ‘What are you doing?'”

Witness Janice Kelley told the station “she slammed on her brakes, crammed it in reverse, and run over the median over there … and hit him in the back. I mean, he was runnin’, and she flat hit him.”

Raines was transported to a hospital, the station reported, adding that police said he’s expected to be OK and suffered only minor injuries.

Christine Braswell is pictured yelling in the aftermath of the incident which got her arrested

Raines is charged with felony breaking and entering, larceny and misdemeanor damage to property, WLOS said, adding that Braswell claimed he broke the screens on her iPad and phone.

The man, identified as Robert Raines, was said to be writhing in pain before being taken to hospital

The red SUV speeds across the parking lot in Walmart in Asheville, North Carolina

Topless man, identified as Robert Raines, can be seen running away with a purse in his hand

And as for Braswell? The station said she’s charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon.

A defense attorney told WLOS in a follow-up story that Braswell can’t claim self-defense because Raines fled — but added that there was no attempted murder charge against Braswell because there likely was no premeditation on her part.

“When something like that happens, rarely is the person who is the victim operating in a cool mind. They are very upset and angry,” Steve Lindsay told the station. “Once he gets the pocketbook and moves away, she is no longer in jeopardy.”