A would-be purse snatcher looking for some quick cash by preying on the elderly picked the wrong woman Wednesday.

Betty Horton, 75, had just finishing shopping about 3:45 p.m. She was putting her groceries into her car near 2800 S. State when she turned and noticed her large handbag was gone from the shopping cart.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man running away with the bag under his arm.

"I started screaming, 'Thief, thief!"' Horton reported.

This would have been the second time this year that Horton's purse was stolen while she was shopping.

But this time, Horton said, she wasn't going to wait for police.

She told herself. "'Betty, you're not going to let no one do this to you again.' Good thing I had my running shoes on."

Horton, who works full time and keeps active, took off after the purse snatcher while yelling, "Stop, stop! Leave my purse alone."

Horton ran down State Street past some businesses and into a residential area. That's when she found the man standing over her purse, which was unzipped and on the ground.

"I just go up to him and go, 'Why? Why did you do this?' He just stood there. 'Why did you do it?"' Horton continued to press.

Despite the potential for danger — she didn't know if the man was armed — Horton said she didn't back off.

"It didn't scare me a bit. It just made me doggone mad," she said. "'That's not right.' That's what I told the guy."

That's when the man, apparently overcome by guilt after the tongue lashing, apologized.

"He said, 'I'm sorry. I'm down on my luck,"' Horton reported. "I said, 'Why didn't you just ask me for some change? I would have helped you. I would have gladly given it to you."'

At one point, Horton also threatened the man.

"I said, 'You know I have a gun in that purse. If you don't back away, I'm either gonna shoot your ear off or your foot.' I was mad," she said.

Then, despite all the man had put her through, Horton took all of the cash she had in her purse — just $3 — and gave it to him.

"I said, 'Here, take it and go.' He said he couldn't do that," Horton said. "I put the $3 in his hand and said, 'Now get the heck out of here.' I felt bad for him. But I felt better for helping him out. Maybe he'll think twice before doing something like that again."

Horton retrieved her handbag, along with all her checks and credit cards. Moments later, the police arrived but the man had left.

She told officers that she really didn't have a gun in the purse. However, she does keep a gun that shoots tear gas pellets in her car, she said.

South Salt Lake police said they normally don't encourage people to chase criminals themselves. In this case, fortunately, no one was hurt.

If faced with the same situation again, Horton said she'd do everything exactly the same.

"As I was driving home, I thought, You know, I feel pretty good about that," she said. "Seventy-five years old and I can still take care of myself."

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com