THIS IS SCARY: Hoboken Police Say Late-Night Purse Snatcher Targeting Women Is Now Off the Streets

HOBOKEN N.J — Hoboken Police say a 23-year-old city man accused of stalking women late at night and ripping purses off their shoulders during a November weekend has been arrested after a multi-agency hunt that stretched from downtown blocks to the Stevens Institute campus.

Chief Steven Aguiar called it “a dangerous individual, targeting women late at night” — and says detectives moved quickly to shut him down before anyone was seriously hurt.

A Weekend Robbery Spree

According to Hoboken Police, the chaos started late on Friday, November 7, 2025, and rolled straight into the early hours of Saturday.

• 11:50 p.m. — 50 block of Garden Street
  Officers responded after a woman reported her purse was stolen after she dropped it, and the thief scooped it up and took off.
• Around 12:20–1:00 a.m. — early Saturday window
  Police later told the public on social media they were investigating multiple robberies during that short overnight stretch, and that a single suspect might be responsible.
• 12:30 a.m. — First + Hudson Streets
  A second woman reported that a man ran up behind her, grabbed her purse, and bolted, according to HPD.

Minutes later, a third incident was reported on the 900 block of Garden Street, where a suspect matching the earlier descriptions allegedly grabbed another woman’s purse and ran. Police say no serious injuries were reported — but the pattern was clear: late at night, women alone, bags snatched and suspect gone.

The Chase Spills Onto the Stevens Campus

The spree didn’t just stay on city corners.

In a message to the Stevens Institute community, campus officials said a suspect tied to one of the robberies fled onto campus, where he was reportedly seen breaking the lock on a scooter at a bike rack before riding away westbound on 6th Street toward Washington Street. Students were told to be extra vigilant and to lock up belongings.

In other words: the suspect wasn’t just grabbing purses — he was allegedly upgrading his getaway vehicle in real time.

How Detectives Say They Broke the Case

By November 11, Hoboken Police pushed out three still images of a man they believed to be tied to the robberies, asking the community to help ID him. Investigators said all three images showed the same individual.

From there, detectives started connecting the dots:

• Multiple purse snatchings in a tight window
• Similar suspect descriptions across different blocks
• Surveillance footage from residents and businesses
• Help from Union City Police, Jersey City Police, and Stevens Institute Police

The case was led by Detective Jesse Castellano and Police Officer Jason Montalvo, with backup from the department’s Detective Bureau.

The Arrest and Charges

On November 25, 2025, Hoboken Police say they located the suspect — 23-year-old Androkle Batistasoriano of Hoboken — on the 800 block of Hudson Street. He was taken into custody and brought to police headquarters.

Batistasoriano has been charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of theft, according to HPD. After processing, he was taken to the Hudson County Correctional Facility. These are charges and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Chief Aguiar credited the arrest to “hard work and persistence” from detectives and called out how quickly the team moved to remove a suspect accused of targeting women late at night.

Why This Case Matters Beyond One Weekend

This wasn’t a complex heist or some movie-style burglary. It was something far more familiar to anyone walking home after dark:

• Quiet residential blocks
• Late-night hours
• Victims caught off-guard
• A suspect who, police say, was willing to chase targets from sidewalks to campus bike racks

For Hoboken, it’s a reminder that urban safety can flip in a single weekend, and that cameras, quick reporting, and cross-town cooperation can be the difference between an unsolved pattern and a clean arrest.

Police are urging anyone who may have had a similar encounter that weekend — or who has footage or information — to contact the Hoboken Police Department’s Detective Bureau.