Police said they've caught a man suspected in an early morning purse-snatching that occurred Thursday on East Huron Street right in front of the Municipal Center which houses the Ann Arbor Police Department, as well as city hall and the 15th District Court.

A man forcibly took a purse from an Ann Arbor city employee in the 300 block of East Huron Street as she was walking to the building around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, said Ann Arbor police Lt. Bob Pfannes.

The suspect fled north on Division Street with the purse. The city employee was not injured in the strong-arm robbery.

The employee went into the police station and gave officers a description of the suspect. About a half hour later, detectives on their way to court observed a man fitting the description a few blocks away from where the incident took place, police said.

The man was questioned and eventually taken into custody. A subsequent investigation resulted in the recovery of the woman's stolen property from four locations, Pfannes said.

The suspect is being held at the Washtenaw County Jail pending authorization of robbery charges.

Information about his age and city of residence was not immediately available.

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John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.