Good Samaritan helps 90-year-old woman track down her mugger

An Oakland, California carpenter witnessed a mugging outside a convenience store.

A 90-year-old woman was on her way into the store when a man who had been panhandling nearby attacked her, knocking her to the ground and taking her purse.

Robb Revelli, 36, witnessed the attack and rushed to the woman's side. She was "in pain, and yelling about her hip," he said.

"I asked her if she wanted to go to the hospital or go chase this guy and she wanted to chase him," Revelli told NBC Bay Area. "If she was down I was down to go get him and we did."

Revelli and the women got into her car and chased the suspect. At one point, Revelli got out of the car to chase — and pin down — the man. The senior stayed in her car and called 911.

"I put the car in park and jumped out and started chasing after him," he said, "ended up jumping fences and ended up in someone's back yard."

"The old lady in the car was pretty much my partner," Revelli told ABC News. "She's the one who called the police. She is the one who trusted a stranger to drive her car and find this guy. She's the hero."

Police arrived within 10 minutes and arrested the suspect, 27-year-old Damarea Johnson.

"She's not from Oakland," Revelli said of the mugging victim. "She's from a different town. She made a wrong turn and ended up in the wrong part of Oakland."

The woman, who was not seriously injured, says she's incredible grateful for Revelli's efforts:

"He's an excellent, wonderful fellow," she told NBC Bay Area. "I hope God protects him and blesses him for the rest of his life."

Police commended Revelli's efforts, but warned that individual safety should come before heroic antics.

"You don't have to chase the person down, but at least calling the police or picking out what the person is wearing, all helps," Revelli told ABC News. "Any little thing counts. You don't have to be a superhero just try to do something, because everyone clams up and doesn't talk to police. More people need to stand up and help each other out."