Staff report

Beaumont police Thursday arrested two suspects in a robbery near JC Penney at 6155 Eastex Freeway.

Charged with aggravated robbery were Kiondra Thomas, 20; and Kadrian Cormier, 19.

In an issued statement, police said a woman exited the store around 2:15 p.m. and a male suspect approached her, then shoved a handgun in her back and demanded her purse. A struggle followed and the the suspect later ID’d as Cormier fled with the purse into a waiting car.

Police said a bystander followed the suspects into the nearby Walmart parking lot, where Thomas, the driver, was arrested. Cormier, who’d fled into the Walmart, later turned himself in.

Both suspects were transported to Jefferson County Jail.