Guilt, apparently, continues to gnaw at a robber who prayed with his victim before he took $20 from her cash register.
Gregory Smith, 23, turned himself into police Tuesday after his mother saw him on television, police said.
Smith, Indianapolis, faces a preliminary charge of robbery for the stick-up at Advance America Monday afternoon
Police said Smith apologized to the cashier for his actions but went ahead with his robbery even after praying with her.
“He said that he hated to have to do this, but times were hard and he had no choice,” cashier Angela Montez, 43, told police, according to a police report.
Montez began crying when she realized Smith’s intentions, she told police. She began to talk to him about God, she said, telling him he still had a chance to refrain from committing the crime.
Smith told Montez he had a 2-year-old child to support and then asked her to pray with him about overcoming his hardships. The two got down on their knees and prayed, remaining there for nearly 10 minutes, police said.
In response to the woman’s kindness, Smith took a bullet out of his handgun and gave it to her, according to the report, telling the clerk it was his only bullet and promising not to hurt her. He then asked Montez for a hug.
Despite the heart-to-heart talk, Smith was not dissuaded from his plans. He took the Montez’s cellphone and told her to go into the restroom and to refrain from calling police for 20 minutes.
Smith took $20 in $5 bills from the cash drawer, according to the report, leaving the rest of the cash in the drawer.