An armed man dressed as Michael Myers from the Halloween movie franchise robbed a Florida liquor store during what deputies learned said was an “inside job” allegedly planned by the store’s clerk.
The suspect seen wearing a Michael Myers mask in surveillance footage from Citrus Liquor Store has been arrested along with the business’ employee, Renee Bedford, according to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.
Bedford, 46, called law enforcement on Sunday, September 20, saying a man wearing a Michael Myers mask robbed the Citrus Liquor Store, located in Inverness, the agency said in a news release and video shared to Facebook on Thursday, September 24.
When asked to describe the man’s race, Bedford said he was Black, according to audio released by the sheriff’s office.
However, surveillance footage “told a very different story” and showed “major inconsistencies,” the agency’s Criminal Investigations Division Captain Mat Baird said in the video.
The footage “showed Bedford laughing during the encounter and the suspect was clearly a white male,” Baird said.
Following the robbery, the liquor store’s owners arrived and checked their finances, discovering $3,018 had been stolen from the business, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Us.
A tip to law enforcement led detectives to speak with a man named Richard Lassiter, who authorities said was the alleged masked robber.
Lassiter, 47, claimed Bedford had approached him about staging a robbery, according to Baird.
He said she “had introduced the idea of a planned robbery to him, including providing details of the store’s surveillance camera program and cash deposit procedure,” the sheriff’s office said.
Afterward, detectives spoke with Bedford who allegedly denied Lassiter’s claims and appeared nervous, according to the agency.
Bedford was ultimately placed under arrest and was discovered to have alleged drugs inside her pocket.
She’s charged with principal to armed robbery, principal to grand theft, possession of fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine and possession of paraphernalia, according to the sheriff’s office.
Information regarding her legal representation wasn’t immediately available.
Lassiter was arrested on charges of robbery with a firearm and grand theft, court records show.
His public defender didn’t immediately return a request for comment from Us.
“This case is a perfect example of why thorough investigative work matters,” Baird said in a statement. “The suspect’s mask may have hidden his face, but our detectives quickly recognized the inconsistencies in this case and exposed an inside job disguised as a robbery.”
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