‘Yuppie Beggar’ Denies Guilt in Purse Theft

A 31-year-old Los Angeles man, nicknamed “the yuppie panhandler” by authorities for allegedly begging money from strangers by posing as a penniless traveler with a pregnant wife, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to an additional charge of stealing a woman’s purse.

Jeffrey Dwayne Allman entered his plea in Van Nuys Superior Court as he was arraigned on a charge of felony grand theft before Judge Judith M. Ashmann, who scheduled pretrial proceedings for Jan. 23.

Allman’s girlfriend, Tracy Chris Hartland, 24, also of Los Angeles, pleaded not guilty to the same charge Tuesday.

The couple also face 33 misdemeanor petty theft charges in Los Angeles for posing as impoverished travelers. They were nicknamed “the yuppie panhandlers” after it was learned they were the managers of a West Hollywood apartment house.

In addition, they were accused of stealing a coin purse containing $1,160 from Ann Hitt, 69, who works in Van Nuys, outside a Reseda restaurant June 26.

Hitt, a bail bond agent, testified during the couple’s preliminary hearing this month that Allman told her Hartland was his pregnant wife and that their car had been burglarized. He asked for $30 to help them return to Merced, she testified.

Hitt said she offered Allman $10 and then, at his request, rummaged in her coin purse for more money. Allman grabbed the purse, vaulted a fence and jumped into a waiting car driven by Hartland, she said.

She reported the theft after seeing Allman’s picture on a television news program reporting his arrest in the Los Angeles cases.