PORTLAND -- Author Katherine Dunn, 65, managed to fend off a purse snatcher about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday in Northwest Portland.
Dunn fought off the attacker near 21st and Glisan as she walked home from the grocery store.
Police said Brandy Amber Carroll, 25, was booked into the Justice Center jail on accusations of first-degree theft, resisting arrest and third-degree robbery.
Dunn is best known locally for her 1989 book "Geek Love" and has a following in the boxing world for her essays on the sweet science. She is a familiar figure among the Portland literati.
Dunn said she had just come out of the Trader Joe's store and was walking to her home. She turned to go up some steps
whe she was yanked around by someone grabbing her purse. Dunn clamped down on the purse with her left arm.
"She said 'let it go, let it go"! Dunn said.
The woman then started kicking Dunn in the shins and slapping her face. The blows to the face triggered a reflex to fight back, Dunn said.
"That's what gave me permission to hit her in the face."
Her only regret at the moment was that she was wearing flip flops and that kicking seemed futile. "Next time, Doc Martens," she said.
The two women were in a stalemate. "She didn't let go. I didn't let go." Dunn started to call for help from passersby. She yelled "help, fire", having heard that it was a phrase that would attract greater attention.
Some people came up. Dunn yelled that she being robbed. What happened next amazed her.The robber yelled "please help me, she's trying to rob me." Dunn described that vocal countermove as "just brilliant. She was very sharp, I have to say."
The passersby didn't know what to think. Fortunately, a neighbor came by, recognized her, and what was truly happening. All three then were caught in the tussle. Two employees came out of Trader Joes and said the attacker had just tried to shoplift at the store.
About this time, police started arriving. The woman ran a short distance before being taken into custody. Dunn said the officers who handled her case "did an impeccable job, very professional, very kind." They later phoned to say that the attacker was both HIV positive and had Hepatitis C. Dunn should think about going to a clinic.
She took a pass. "I failed to bloody her nose, so I was not exposed."
Dunn said the attacker must have been in a "really really desperate" state to attack her. She also seemed to be under the influence of drugs. Dunn herself suffered minor scrapes and bruises.
Unlike some victims of these attacks, Dunn said she was able to sense a positive outcome.
"Well, frankly, I feel good. I didn't give up my purse and I got to get my digs in."
Dunn was interviewed last summer by Oregonian book editor Jeff Baker about the her literary career.
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