A man charged with snatching a purse while armed with a large knife remained in the Webster County Jail Saturday.

Christopher Lehrkamp Sr., 33, of Scranton, made his initial appearance in Webster County Magistrate Court Saturday following the incident early Friday afternoon.

He is charged with first-degree theft and carrying weapons.

The weapon he is accused of carrying is a knife that is longer than 5 inches, according to a criminal complaint read in court Saturday by Magistrate Steve Kersten.

The theft happened at about 12:08 p.m. Friday at Walmart, 3036 First Ave. S.

According to the complaint read by Kersten, a woman was leaving the store and was between the inner and outer doors at the south entrance when Lehrkamp went up to her, grabbed her purse from her shopping cart and ran away. He dropped the knife and the purse in the store parking lot before getting in a vehicle.

The woman was not injured.

He was arrested by Fort Dodge police a short time later at the Iowa Department of Transportation Drivers License Station at 2313 First Ave. S. When officers approached the vehicle he was in, he tried to run away, but was quickly caught.

Lehrkamp appeared via video from the Webster County Jail for Saturday’s court proceeding. He repeatedly tried to talk about the case and Kersten told him to be quiet because anything he said could be used against him in court.

Kersten scheduled a preliminary hearing and bond review hearing for 4 p.m. Aug. 9.

Lehrkamp remained in jail with an $11,000 cash bond.