Woman accused of robbing Ormond Beach Publix arrested

Woman was behind on rent

Woman arrested after robbing Ormond Beach Publix

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A woman who deputies said robbed an Ormond Beach-area Publix Friday morning was arrested, according to officials.

Kayla Kangas, 28, was taken into custody Friday after investigators say she was identified on video surveillance and then seen immediately after the robbery wearing the same clothes as the robber.

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Deputies say Kangas and another woman were behind on their rent.

“The landlord said one of the tenants was “Kayla,” and he asked the deputy to go speak to her. When Deputy Held went to do that, she was gone,” deputies said.

While the deputy was talking to the landlord, dispatch radioed the robbery call at Publix and the deputy rushed to the supermarket, officials said.

Employees at Publix told deputies a female in her 20s approached the counter, passed a note demanding money then took the cash and left.

According to investigators, deputies began searching for the suspect, and while researching possible suspects in the area, the deputy contacted the landlord on River Drive to find out if "Kayla” had returned to the house.

"The landlord said she’d come back in a hurry almost immediately after the deputy left, that she was wearing the same clothes as depicted in the video, and that she’d picked up her boyfriend and left “like a bat out of hell,” deputies said.

Deputies noticed the woman driving and pulled her over. Kangas was interviewed by deputies and arrested, a news release said.

Kangas is charged with robbery and grand theft. She was taken to the Volusia County Jail.

Her bond has been set at $10,000.

Kayla Kangas