DeKalb County Family Dollar robbed at gunpoint
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A man who robbed a Family Dollar is considered possibly armed and dangerous, Now DeKalb County Police want him behind bars before he robs another business.
Investigators say Thursday night the robber made threatening gestures with a weapon to order employees of the Family Dollar on Custer Avenue to the back of the store.
DeKalb County Police Investigators at the South Precinct suspect it’s a case of a shoplifter turned armed robber at the same store.
Now, they’re concerned he could take it to the next level.
On surveillance video, he is seen walking into the Family Dollar wearing a pulled down distinctive floppy hat. What he does next isn’t on video.
“He flashes a weapon in his waistband and he brings all the employees straight to the back room locks them back there,” said Sgt. Louis Pierre with the South Precinct Investigations Unit.
Sgt. Pierre said the armed robber then goes straight to where the money is and grabs a lot of it.
On his way out he slips the cash into a plastic bag, then leaves in a blue sedan with another man – the apparent getaway driver.
“Yes, I just heard about it. My girlfriend from work just called me and told me that the store had been robbed. I really panicked because I was afraid so I just came on out,” said Diane Nolen, a customer at the Family Dollar store
She told FOX 5 News she cut her shopping short at the store after learning of the robbery which occurred Thursday just before it closed.
Police suspect this is not the first time the robber has been in the store after comparing photos from the robbery and a recent shoplifting incident.
“It’s a photo of him wearing a floppy type hat and it’s the same type of hat the suspect was wearing in the actual robbery,” said Sgt. Pierre.
He said the man had a similar checked shirt on, one red, the other blue.
“Oh he’s bold, really bold to come back. I mean he don’t care,” said Diane Nolen.
Police are concerned the floppy-hat-wearing shoplifter turned robber will take it to the next level.
“We think maybe he might be thinking, ‘Hey, this was so easy I might try it again.’ Depending on the pushback he gets next time he might decide to use more force,” said Sgt. Pierre.
He said police have made a recent arrest for a rash of other similar store robberies, now Sgt. Pierre is concerned the floppy hat crook will become their next serial robber.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS.There could be a $2,000 reward involved and tipsters can remain anonymous.