Woman hurls hot coffee at would-be thief

(KTVU) Palo Alto, Calif -  

Here is KTVU crime reporter's Rap Sheet blog for Feb. 13, 2017:

HOT COFFEE FOILS THIEF: A woman fended off a bike-riding purse snatcher in Palo Alto by hurling hot coffee at him, police said.

The victim was walking in a parking lot of the Stanford Shopping Center about 10:15 a.m. Saturday when two men rode up to her on a bike. (One was standing on pegs attached to the bike and holding onto the other's shoulders).

The man standing on the pegs got off the bike and tried to pull the victim's purse off her shoulder. She responded by throwing a hot cup of coffee at the assailant's face, police said.

Enraged, the man punched the woman in the face, causing her to scream.

But the attacker got back onto the back of the bike, and his accomplice rode away toward Quarry Road.

The robber was a black man in his 20s, between 6 feet 3 and 6 feet 5 inches tall, skinny, with a squared-off flat-top haircut. He wore a red V-neck cotton T-shirt and black jeans.

The man riding the bike is a white, in his 20s, with short brown or black hair and a thin to medium build. He had on a gray short-sleeved shirt with think black horizontal stripes and a floral design on the collar, plus blue jeans.

The bike was described as larger than a BMX.

Anyone with information is asked to call Palo Alto police at (650) 329-2413.

You can see Henry Lee daily on KTVU. If you have a tip for Henry, send an email to Henry.Lee@foxtv.com or contact him on Twitter