Female Bandit Now Suspect in Sixth Armed Robbery

Mebane, N.C.--The woman wanted in connection with jewelry store robberies in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee has allegedly struck again in the Southeast.

According to a crime alert circulated late Monday afternoon by the Jewelers’ Security Alliance, the female armed robbery suspect entered a jewelry store in Mebane, N.C. at 10:30 a.m. Monday, ordered a male and a female employee into the back room, and restrained them with zip ties. She then proceeded to empty the store’s showcases.

The JSA said the woman, who is believed to have a male accomplice who does not enter the stores with her, might be using a four-door dark-colored Toyota Camry with a temporary paper license plate for transportation. She also has dyed her hair a few shades darker and wears an earpiece authorities believe she uses to communicate with her accomplice.

Prior to Monday’s robbery, the suspect was spotted in a jewelry store in Macon, Ga. on Dec. 30.

The JSA advises that anyone who sees this woman in their store call 911 immediately.

The armed female robber first struck in August, robbing a Zales store in Dawsonville, Ga. before also hitting jewelry stores in Panama City, Fla. and Bluffton, S.C. She also is wanted for an armed robbery that took place in October at a jewelry store in Sevierville, Tenn. and has been tied to an additional case in Woodstock, Ga.

Losses from these crimes total more than $4 million at retail.

At the time news of the female robber first surfaced, the JSA called the case “unprecedented.”

Whether it’s just men or men working with female accomplices, most jewelry store armed robberies are pulled off by two or more individuals.

Rarely does the industry see a lone armed robber, and never is that robber a woman. In fact, JSA President John J. Kennedy said in his 23 years with the organization, he has never seen a woman commit an armed jewelry store robbery by herself.

Monday’s robbery in Mebane marked the first time she pulled off a robbery at a store where a male sales associate was working.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact FBI Special Agent Lawrence Borghini at 850-770-1619 or the JSA at 212-687-0328.

The JSA is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the armed female robber. The alliance’s reward hotline is 800-325-1883.