Man sentenced in purse-snatching that injured former KC Councilwoman Collins
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- A 43-year-old man pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery of Joanne Collins.
- Collins was dragged and suffered a broken shoulder, broken ribs and fingers.
- Judge Marty Seaton sentenced Zachary S. Locke to 10 years in prison.
Former Kansas City Councilwoman Joanne Collins was 89 when she was dragged to the ground during a March 2025 purse snatching. A 43-year-old man pleaded guilty this week to the crime, court records show.
Zachary S. Locke of Kansas City pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of first-degree robbery of Collins, the first Black woman elected to Kansas City’s City Council.
Collins’ purse containing $120 in cash, a wallet, bank cards and a phone was taken during the robbery, and Collins suffered a broken shoulder, broken ribs and fingers, and soreness in her recently replaced hip, police previously said.
Locke was arrested days later at a library. He told officers he was hungry and used money from the purse to buy food, according to court documents.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Marty Seaton accepted Locke’s plea and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Seaton ordered that Locke be credited with slightly more than a year and two months for time served while the case was pending. Locke’s plea came as he was facing a possible jury trial later this month.
According to court documents, officers responded to the robbery about 4:30 p.m. near West 12th and Central streets on March 24, 2025, where they found Collins lying on the sidewalk near the Kansas City Convention Center.
Collins told police she had been walking when she felt a tug on her purse from behind. She and Locke struggled over the bag, and the force of Locke pulling on the purse caused her to fall. e was dragged along the ground until the bag came free from her hands, according to court documents.
Collins was taken to a hospital for treatment of her injuries.
Officers found her purse, cards, and phone a short distance away from the scene. They eventually linked Locke to the crime using tattoos, shoes, and bags that could be seen on surveillance footage, according to court documents.
Collins became the first Black woman to be elected to City Council in 1974. She was re-elected to the seat four times before she stepped down in 1991. Collins also served stints as the city’s mayor pro tem and acting mayor.
The Star’s Nathan Pilling provided information for this story.
