LEWISTON — A judge set bail Friday at $3,000 for a transient charged with stealing a purse from a teenage girl outside the Auburn Mall on Sunday.

Mark Sinclair, 22, who has been staying with his sister on Oak Street, appeared in 8th District Court. He also was charged with violation of condition of release.

Lili-Anne Tyler, 16, of Canton said she and her mother, Jillette Tyler, also of Canton, had been in the mall parking lot when a man identified as Sinclair and a 17-year-old boy from Auburn drove up to them. Sinclair reportedly shouted at the girl to give him her purse and knocked her to the ground. Her mother was shoved out of the way, Lili-Anne said.

The girl eventually surrendered her purse.

Sinclair and the teenage boy drove off.

On Wednesday, police stopped a vehicle and, after determining it was stolen, noticed the people inside matched the descriptions of the two suspects in the mall purse-snatching, according to a written statement by Auburn Deputy Chief Jason Moen. An Auburn police detective was called to the traffic stop.

State records show Sinclair has a violent criminal history in the Peru area. In 2014, he was charged with assaulting and terrorizing a woman in Mexico, leaving her with severe facial injuries. He was convicted of assault and the terrorizing charge was dismissed.

Sinclair was being held without bail at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn until his initial appearance in the Lewiston court. The juvenile was held at the Long Creek Juvenile Detention Center in South Portland pending a court appearance this week.

Judge Susan Oram set Sinclair’s bail at $3,000 with the condition that he have no contact with the two victims.

Because the two charges were felonies, Sinclair didn’t enter a plea. The case likely will be taken to a grand jury, which can bring indictments on felony charges.

Assistant District Attorney Patricia Reynolds Regan was seeking $5,000 cash bail for the safety of the community. She said Sinclair’s probation officer said he was filing paperwork to request that Sinclair be held without bail pending a hearing on bail revocation out of Oxford County for an assault conviction.

Sinclair is out on bail from York County, Reynolds Regan told the judge.

Jeffrey Dolley, Sinclair’s attorney, said his client was on a limited income and should have bail in the hundreds of dollars, not thousands. He said his client had a “very important” mental health appointment on March 5 for his disability for which he receives Social Security benefits.

Sinclair graduated from high school and never failed to appear in court, except when he was behind bars, Dolley said.

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