Three Winter Haven men were arrested on Christmas Eve after they tried to rob a 72-year-old woman in a grocery store parking lot, according to police.

Authorities said the woman was loading her groceries into her car outside a Winn Dixie on Recker Highway, when Darrel Bandy, 21, and Christopher Rashaad Lewis, 19, grabbed her purse.

A bystander witnessed the crime and detained Lewis until officers arrived.

A K-9 officer immediately tracked Bandy to a nearby apartment complex.

Officers said they saw Willie Andrew Turner, 24, standing by a vehicle, and when asked about the whereabouts of a suspect running through the area, Turner refused to answer the officers' questions.

A witness in the parking area told officers that Bandy was inside the car where Turner was standing.

All three men were arrested and transported to the Polk County Jail.