Man Takes Plea Deal in Safeway Purse Theft

The man accused of a purse from a Belmont Safeway store in January has pleaded no contest to the crime and his case has been referred to a mental health court.

Mark Damon Taylor, 44, pleaded no contest earlier this month to felony theft with a prior conviction and felony identity theft in exchange for a maximum of 90 days in county jail, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Taylor, who was March 1 in connection with the January purse theft, initially to the crime.

He changed his plea, however, on March 8, and his case was referred to the Pathways Mental Health Treatment Court due to Taylor's reported mental health issues, prosecutors said.

On Friday, Taylor made his initial appearance at Pathways Court. An intake conference determined Taylor was eligible for consideration for Pathways Treatment, and the case was continued to May 4 for receipt of the Pathways suitability report.

Store surveillance tapes allegedly captured Taylor carrying away the purse of a 79-year-old San Carlos woman, who was shopping at the Safeway store at 1100 El Camino Real. She had placed her purse in the child seat portion of her shopping cart while shopping.

Sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., the woman walked away from her cart to gather some items and her purse was taken.

After a review of the store security cameras, investigators were able to learn that an African American male with a stocky build took the purse from the victim’s shopping cart when the victim’s attention was elsewhere.

Store security cameras then show the male suspect leaving the store with the victim’s purse. The male suspect was apparently in the company of an African American female, who left the store a short time later. Some of the victim’s credit cards were later used in San Mateo.

Taylor was subsequently arrested as a result of tips that were received by Belmont police following the release of Taylor's photo.

Taylor is out of custody on a $10,000 bail bond.