December 11, 2007 -

KINGS MOUNTAIN — a robbery at the One Stop on Shelby Road is notable for the weapon the suspect had in hand — a hatchet.

Now police have released surveillance video of the robbery. They hope the public can help.
A little after 11 p.m. that night, police said a man walked into the convenience store, with what was described as a rusty hatchet in his hand, and demanded money from the cashier.
Police said the suspect used a hold-up note written in green crayon. It demanded $50.

“I’m sorry,” the note said. “My family is hungry.”
The cashier handed over money from the register and the suspect left the store and ran north toward U.S. 74 East.

“Once you begin to commit crimes and you start to get away with them, you get braver and you take more risks and more chances,” said Detective Jeffrey McDougal.
Kings Mountain Police Capt. Derek Johnson earlier said police had looked at the surveillance footage from the robbery but — with the suspect covering his face — it hadn’t yielded enough clues to identify the man.

Johnson said Tuesday’s robbery was an example of how crime tends to rise late in the year.
“You’re going to see more desperation around the holidays,” he said.

The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s, about 6-foot tall, slim build and weighing about 170 pounds. He was wearing a blue knit cap over his face, a dark gray hoodie, blue jeans and yellow shoes or boots, police reported.