Orange County deputies search for Dollar General purse snatcher

Man forced pregnant clerk to attempt to open safe, cops say

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Deputies need help catching a man with a gun who targeted a woman and a pregnant clerk inside a local Dollar General store Monday.

The robbery happened at the Dollar General on Valencia College Lane in Orange County.

"I'm scared. I just want him to be caught," said Monica Mathis, who shops at the store daily.

The man seen in store security video forced two women manning the registers into a back office with a gun in his hand. Deputies said he wanted them to open the safe, but they were unable to access the office safe, so the man ushered the two clerks back to the register, then walked off-camera.

However, he doesn't leave the store empty-handed. Deputies said he robbed a woman while she was shopping, and left with her purse.

Shoppers like Mathis want him caught so she can feel safe coming here with her children.

"Anything could happen to my children if I send them in there, they can rob them or hurt them," said Mathis, as she left the Dollar General Tuesday evening.

She shops at the store every day, but missed the daytime robbery just after 3 p.m. Monday.

Deputies said the man walked in and asked a clerk for change for a $100 bill. The clerk could not open her register so he asked another clerk before taking them both to the back office to try to get into the safe.

Anyone who may know who the thief is should call the Orange County Sheriff's Office or Crimeline.


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