REVERE – A Revere man who allegedly tried and failed to snatch a woman’s purse and then grabbed her friend’s bag instead was ordered held on $20,000 cash bail at his arraignment Monday.Viktor Klein, 28, charged with unarmed robbery and attempted robbery, was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court by Judge Thomas C. Horgan for the March 12 incident. He is expected to return to court on April 12.Assistant District Attorney Spencer Lord said in court that Klein had previously been convicted of robbery offenses in Worcester Superior Court and has a criminal history in Texas. Lord went on to say that the 25- and 26-year-old women, both South End residents, were walking on Harrison Avenue around 2 a.m., when they were approached by a man with dark hair parted to one side, wearing a black jacket and dark jeans.The man, later identified as Klein, allegedly said, “Do you guys know?,” before lunging at one of the women and grabbing her purse, which was strapped over her shoulder and across her chest. After an unsuccessful try, Klein then turned to the second woman and grabbed her bag, which contained a Sony VAIO laptop and her identification. Klein then ran away toward East Springfield Street.Boston Police spoke with the two victims, who gave a description of the suspect and the direction in which he fled.Minutes later, officers canvassing the area nearby saw a man matching the suspect’s description near Shawmut Avenue and Northampton Street. When they approached him, they saw that both of his hands were in his jacket pockets. After ordering him to show his hands, he allegedly withdrew only one, saying, “I can’t take my hand out.”At that point, the officers took Klein’s hand out of his pocket and a Sony VAIO laptop fell from his jacket to the ground. The victims positively identified Klein as the man who approached and robbed them.
