Police say man stole handbags in Davenport store, punched officer in eye
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An 18-year-old Cincinnati man was in custody Wednesday after police allege he stole high-end handbags then punched a Davenport Police officer in the eye, according to court documents.
Brandon Hardin faces felony charges of second-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit forcible felony, and an aggravated misdemeanor of assault on persons in certain occupations – bodily injury, court records show.
Handbag theft, officer assault
Shortly after 4 p.m. July 8, 2023, Davenport Police responded to NorthPark Mall, 320 W. Kimberly Road, for a robbery complaint.
Police allege Hardin entered a store with co-conspirators “with the intent to steal high-end purses,” according to affidavits. Hardin entered an employee only area and removed high-end bags from the glass case and shelf, then tried to run toward the exit and past the last point of sale, affidavits show.
An off-duty police officer present in the store attempted to intervene and identified himself as “Davenport Police” to Hardin, who then got into a fight with the officer, who was struck once with a closed fist in the left eye, causing injury.
In affidavits,police say Hardin then ran from the store, got into an SUV with stolen license plates, and left the scene.
Hardin “was able to remove over $2,000 worth of purses past the last point of sale before the physical confrontation ensued,” police allege in affidavits.
Affidavits say that, through the investigation, police learned that Hardin and the co-conspirators traveled in a rental vehicle from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Iowa to commit a series of felony thefts.
Hardin, who was being held on a total $7,500 bond in Scott County Jail, is set for a preliminary hearing April 26 in Scott County Court.
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