EVERETT --- It took a jug of laundry detergent to stop an Everett purse snatcher.

After grabbing a handicapped woman's handbag in a Safeway parking lot last month, a bystander smacked the would-be robber over the head with a plastic bottle of liquid laundry soap.

Undeterred, the suspect, 31, of Everett, tried to make a clean getaway. Another bystander put a wrinkle in those plans.

The suspect tried to climb into his car to drive off but a man wrestled with him until police arrived, according to a search warrant filed Tuesday in Everett District Court.

As police began to investigate, more dirt came out.

It turns out the man may be good for at least three similar robberies and thefts in Everett and Lynnwood, the warrant said. Court records show the man has a criminal history and the incident at Safeway wasn't the first time police caught him in hot water.

He's linked to a purse snatching at the Everett Mall on March 24, an...