CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A Chesterfield store clerk is sharing the harrowing details of an armed robbery that unfolded in front of her nine-year-old son.
The woman said on Jan. 2, she was called in unexpectedly to work a short shift.
Her son wanted to tag along, so she let him. She had no idea what was to come.
Melissa Bartholomew says she was at the back of the store filling a mop bucket when she heard the door open.
She walked from the back of the store to the front to greet the customer, while her son was sweeping the floor.
Suspect in robbery at the Circle K at 7400 Woodpecker Road (PHOTO: Chesterfield Police)
She says the robber was wearing a black hoodie that was pulled over his head and a pair of what appeared to be women's sunglasses.
It was just before 11 p.m. and she was just about to close the store. Bartholomew says the man in this surveillance picture walked in the store right past her son, grabbed her by the arm and then pointed the gun at her demanding money from the register.
Her son kept his distance a few aisles over, but watched in horror.
"I was halfway way down the aisle when he came in, displayed the weapon and said give me all of the money from the register. I said ‘oh my gosh, my son is in the store.’ Then I said ‘I will comply,’" the clerk explained.
Bartholomew and her nine-year-old son were unharmed.
She has not yet returned to work and says her son doesn't want her to, because he fears something else bad will happen.
Since the robbery, workers there say they're grateful that Chesterfield police have increased their presence in the area.
Police want the public’s help. If you have information that can help them, you're urged to call Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.
