Surveillance footage from Planet Fitness, which is behind GameStop, showed the teen heading toward Jungle Jim’s. Jungle Jim’s loss prevention staff reviewed its video surveillance and tracked the boy to a restroom where investigators found a discarded dark-colored hoodie and a cordless phone, which the teen stole from the clerk as she attempted to call 911 before he left the store.
The teen is charged with delinquency to wit aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony because he allegedly had a handgun, said Fairfield police spokesman Officer Doug Day.
According to the police report, he first told the clerk “he was looking for a gift.” She looked away from the counter, which is when the teenager pulled a handgun from his sweatpants, went behind the clerk and grabbed her around the neck while placing the gun to her head.
He allegedly stole approximately $450 from two cash registers, and had the clerk load $59.99 onto a PlayStation+ card and $74.99 onto a PS4 NBA 2K20 card for in-game purchases.
The distraught female clerk called 911 after he left the store, heading north on Ohio 4. GameStop, 5378 Dixie Highway, is in a plaza adjacent to Jungle Jim’s.
“I know he went off in a certain direction, but I didn’t see a car, I didn’t see anybody pull out,” the clerk said to a dispatcher.
Fairfield police were dispatched at 10:32 a.m. Thursday and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office assisted with a K-9 officer searching the area.
Police posted surveillance photos of the teen immediately after the robbery on the department’s social media accounts. They should him at GameStop wearing the hoodie similar to one found in the Jungle Jim’s restroom. He was immediately identified by several people, including the high school’s school resource officer, a high school security officer, parents of his classmates, former co-workers, a teacher, and his father and step-mother, police said.
Day said crime postings on social media “works well for us.”
The teen has been living with his mother for the past four months, and after police contacted her, she brought her son to the police department. Fairfield High School reported to the teen’s parents he was not at school on Thursday, police said.
The teen appeared in court Friday morning before Judge Ronald Craft, but did not enter a plea. He is scheduled to reappear in the juvenile court at 9 a.m. on March 16. He was remanded back to the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center.
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