Personal trainer and coach thwarts Mililani purse-snatching

A 22-year-old personal trainer and high school wrestling coach said he was only “doing the right thing” when he answered the cries of a 61-year-old woman and chased down her suspected purse-snatcher Jan. 22 at the Town Center of Mililani.

The alleged thief turned out to be Gregory LaBar, a 37-year-old patient who had been sent to Kahi Mohala under court order and fled the mental health facility in September.

Denzell Scott, who works as a personal trainer at UFC Gym at the shopping center and as a wrestling coach for Leilehua High School, was headed to the gym when he heard the victim screaming in the Mililani Walmart parking lot.

“I turned around. I kept hearing the scream and she said, ‘He has my purse! He has my purse!’” Scott said.

“As soon as my brain put everything together, I chased the guy down and I got the purse back.”

Scott said he grabbed LaBar’s wrist, causing him to drop the bag, which he reportedly had snatched from the woman’s shoulder.

“He did look at me and smiled,” Scott said. “That actually disturbed me a little bit. Now that I know that he was mentally ill,” that explains it.

Scott didn’t subdue the man, saying his main thought was to return the purse to the woman, who could have been someone’s mother or grandmother.

Police were called and apprehended LaBar at the nearby post office, arresting him on suspicion of second-degree robbery and escape. He is scheduled to appear in Circuit Court on the robbery charge. It was his second arrest since leaving Kahi Mohala. Unaware he was an escapee, police mistakenly released him after a November arrest for being in a park after hours.

LaBar’s mother, Diana LaBar of California, said she is grateful her son has finally been apprehended and is off the streets after warning authorities he was a danger to himself and others. She said her son has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and has impaired awareness. He has a history of crimes in Texas and California.

The purse-snatching victim, a Burger King employee, thanked Scott for retrieving her purse and IDs.

As for being called a hero, Scott said: “I don’t think you should be called a hero for doing the right thing.”