The hugging bandit: Woman embraces 7-Eleven workers, flashes gun, makes off with merchandise

Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal
·2 min read
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A Georgia woman walked into a 7-Eleven store Tuesday near DeLand. She talked about God. She hugged some of the employees. And she showed them a gun in her waistband, grabbed some merchandise without paying for it, and left.

Kimberly Robinson, 39, of Stonecrest, Georgia, was found in her vehicle parked outside the 7-Eleven at 2090 E. New York Ave. at 3:01 a.m., according to an arrest report from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

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Initially, Robinson entered the 7-Eleven to use the restroom. After she came out, she started talking to a store employee about God and then showed the gun.

Robinson told the employee, who was working with her daughter in the store, not to trust or mess with anyone without knowing what the person is going through because they can potentially kill you, the arrest report notes,

The fearful employee called her husband and that irritated Robinson, who held the victim's face and then started hugging her. She also grabbed the store employee's daughter's head and hugged her too, investigators said.

Robinson then made a cup of coffee, grabbed an energy drink, a phone charging cable, a dashboard mount, and other merchandise totaling $62.25, deputies said.

As she left the store, Robinson told the employee not to worry about her gun, deputies said. In talking with deputies, Robinson recounted how everything happened, which was similar to what the store employees, reported deputies said.

Surveillance camera video showed Robinson grabbing and hugging the store employee but it did not show her brandishing the firearm, the report highlighted.

Records show she was jailed on charges of robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed firearm, and two counts of battery. She was being held Wednesday without bail at the Volusia County Branch Jail.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Gun-toting woman hugs 7-Eleven workers, makes off with merchandise