Man steals more than $100K from store
By Allen Devlin
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LUMPKIN COUNTY, Georgia (WGCL) — The Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a man who walked into Crisson Gold Mine Store on Morrison Moore Parkway in Dahlonega and held employees at gunpoint, forcing them to hand over cash, merchandise and $100,000 in gold pendants, jewelry and gold nuggets.
“He just came in through the door and honestly, we said ‘hey how are you,” said Crisson Gold Mine store manager Brianna Ray-Weaver. “We didn’t quite see it right away [but then] he said ‘this is a robbery put your hands up’ and he already had his gun out. Everything just happened like fast.”
According to employees, the robber knew where the most expensive products were and targeting those cases, leading employees to believe he had been to the store before.
“He got like 4 or 5 trays,” said Ray-Weaver. “Nuggets ranging anywhere from $20 to $7000. Jewelry ranging from $200 to $8000.”
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard says deputies are currently working to track down the man, who was seen in the video wearing a puffy black and orange Cincinnati Bengals jacket.
“If you came through here yesterday evening between 3 and 5 and saw anything suspicious please let us know at the lumpkin county sheriff’s office,” said Sheriff Jarrard in a Facebook video he posted addressing the incident.
Crisson Gold Mine and the accompanying store has been public since 1969. Brianna Ray-Weaver’s family has owned the store since 1990 and never have they had an experience like this. The tourist attraction is a Dahlonega community staple and is open 7 days a week for tourist and avid miners alike.
The store was closed Friday as employees worked to assess stolen inventory, but plans to re-open Saturday.
“It’s super traumatic but you can’t let 3-5 minutes of your life ruin your whole life, so we’re gonna see what happens,” said Ray-Weaver.
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