COMMENTARY | Gumby was all over the news last week when he attempted to rob a 7-Eleven convenience store in the San Diego area. Not wanting to give the lovable character a bad name, the man who was behind that giant green costume made himself known after less than a week of hiding out.
19-year-old Jacob Kiss turned himself in to police Tuesday claiming to be the infamous man in the Gumby costume who attempted the robbery, according to Reuters. His partner in crime, Jason Giramma, also 19, had not been dressed in a Pokey costume, but he did drive the getaway car. Giramma turned himself in as well.
The pair brought the Gumby costume with them when they went to the police station; it has been confiscated as evidence. It will be given to the district attorney for use in possible prosecution. The embarrassment of the whole ordeal has hopefully deterred the two from any further crime attempts; perhaps they’ll both seek other, more legitimate ways of making money in the future.
Wearing attention-getting costumes is just not a smart idea in what is already a dumb idea in the first place. A man in Glasgow, Scotland, was just sentenced to five and a half years in prison for robbing a gas station while wearing a Darth Vader helmet.
While Darth Vader makes a little bit more sense than Gumby, the man who donned the mask used a bicycle to get away after robbing the service station of 270 British pounds. Can you imagine the scene? You’d think after committing a robbery he’d want to be a little more inconspicuous than a Darth Vader racing down the street on a bike.
The force was apparently not with 39-year-old Francis Anderson when police found both the suspect and his helmet.
Earlier this summer, a 23-year-old woman, Navahcia Edwards, allegedly robbed a bank wearing a nun outfit, reports the Chicago Tribune. Edwards was a former employee at TCF Bank in the Chicago area and had been been charged with embezzlement at another bank in which she had worked, Chase.
Edwards was reportedly able to get away with $120,000, wearing the nun costume along with a scary-looking, distorted mask. It didn’t take long for authorities to catch up Edwards: She was quickly connected to the rental car she used in her getaway, and had even left receipts for the costume inside the vehicle. Her face was clearly shown on the security camera of the costume shop where it was purchased.
Edwards had allegedly robbed TCF bank in order to pay back the money she embezzled from Chase. Showing, once again, robbing Peter to pay Paul usually does not end well.