OKINAWA CITY — A 19-year-old U.S. Army private with headquarters company of 1-1 Air Defense Artillery Battalion (PAC-3) on Kadena Air Base was under Okinawa police custody Tuesday on a charge of robbery.

A police spokesman alleged the private — whose name was not released because he is considered a minor under Japanese law — robbed a 20-year-old woman early Monday in Okinawa City.

According to the police report, an assailant approached the woman walking on a street in the city’s Chuo district, a popular entertainment area, at 12:20 a.m., punched her in the face, then ran off with an expensive shoulder bag.

The bag is worth about $800, the police spokesman said. It contained a wallet with about $250 in cash.

Witnesses to the attack called police, who spotted the soldier about 15 minutes later walking along a nearby street, the police spokesman said, adding that the bag was recovered but the wallet and credit cards were missing.

The spokesman said the soldier was arrested at the station about two hours later after he was identified by the victim. The woman was treated for bruises to her face and the back of her head.

According to the police report, the private was intoxicated and denied attacking the woman.

On Tuesday, a charge of robbery resulting in bodily injuries was forwarded to the Naha District Public Prosecutor’s Office, the spokesman said.