A suspect who used a stun gun to subdue a victim in what police believe was an attempted purse snatching near Melrose and Western Avenues on January 27 was formally charged Monday with robbery.

The suspect, identified as David Victor Thomas, 22, was arrested minutes after the attack when some nearby valet parking attendants held him down and called police. Thomas allegedly walked up behind a female victim in the 4800 block of Melrose Avenue and shot her in the back of the neck with a stun gun. The woman reportedly fell to the ground and the suspect attempted to steal her purse, but was chased off by the valet attendants who were standing outside the Palace nightclub on Melrose Avenue.

“We are very thankful for these valet attendants,” said Lt. Robert Binder, with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division. “They were doing a good thing, and had they not gotten involved, this guy may have been out there free to do this to somebody else.”

Binder said the responding officers took Thomas into custody and recovered the stun gun, but were not able to locate the victim, who had walked away from the scene. Thomas was originally booked for attempted kidnapping while investigators worked to uncover video surveillance from nearby businesses that captured the attack. Some video footage was located, and it was broadcast by local television news outlets with a plea for the victim to come forward. On January 30, the unidentified victim came to the Hollywood Division after seeing the footage on television. Binder said she identified Thomas as her attacker, which led to the robbery charge.

Thomas is the son of suspected serial killer and rapist John Floyd Thomas, 73, who is in custody and is currently facing charges of murdering seven elderly women in the 1970s and ‘80s.

Thomas is believed to be a suspect the police dubbed the Westside Rapist, and is being investigated for additional killings.

Binder said David Thomas has an address listed where his father previously lived, but added that he is a transient who was frequenting the Hollywood area.

“We don’t believe there is any connection between our guy and his dad, but it is kind of creepy,” Binder added.

A suspect who used a stun gun to subdue a victim in what police believe was an attempted purse snatching near Melrose and Western Avenues on January 27 was formally charged Monday with robbery.

The suspect, identified as David Victor Thomas, 22, was arrested minutes after the attack when some nearby valet parking attendants held him down and called police. Thomas allegedly walked up behind a female victim in the 4800 block of Melrose Avenue and shot her in the back of the neck with a stun gun. The woman reportedly fell to the ground and the suspect attempted to steal her purse, but was chased off by the valet attendants who were standing outside the Palace nightclub on Melrose Avenue.

“We are very thankful for these valet attendants,” said Lt. Robert Binder, with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division. “They were doing a good thing, and had they not gotten involved, this guy may have been out there free to do this to somebody else.”

Binder said the responding officers took Thomas into custody and recovered the stun gun, but were not able to locate the victim, who had walked away from the scene. Thomas was originally booked for attempted kidnapping while investigators worked to uncover video surveillance from nearby businesses that captured the attack. Some video footage was located, and it was broadcast by local television news outlets with a plea for the victim to come forward. On January 30, the unidentified victim came to the Hollywood Division after seeing the footage on television. Binder said she identified Thomas as her attacker, which led to the robbery charge.

Thomas is the son of suspected serial killer and rapist John Floyd Thomas, 73, who is in custody and is currently facing charges of murdering seven elderly women in the 1970s and ‘80s.

Thomas is believed to be a suspect the police dubbed the Westside Rapist, and is being investigated for additional killings.

Binder said David Thomas has an address listed where his father previously lived, but added that he is a transient who was frequenting the Hollywood area.

“We don’t believe there is any connection between our guy and his dad, but it is kind of creepy,” Binder added.