‘Happy couple’ stages robbery to take their relationship to the next level, NC cops say
A woman called 911 Monday night to report a robbery at the Big Daddy’s convenience store in North Carolina where she worked.
But she was in on the heist, according to Morganton Public Safety.
Callie Elizabeth Carswell, 24, and her fiance Clarence William Moore III, 40, were arrested Tuesday after investigators say they planned the robbery together, according to a news release from police. The pair then reportedly went to Walmart and got engaged.
“Carswell allowed investigators to search her cellular phone which contained videos of her and Moore getting engaged at Walmart in the early morning hours after the robbery,” police said. “Additionally, receipts seized during a search warrant revealed the engagement rings being purchased at Walmart.”
Officers in Morganton, a small town about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte, said a man “wielding a long curved knife” entered the Big Daddy’s at 10:06 p.m. Monday and stole $2,960 in cash.
Carswell reportedly told police the suspect — whom she described as a 6-foot-tall, 250-pound “black male or an older white male with a deep voice” — took off in a gray Toyota Camry.
According to an arrest report, Moore is white, 6 feet 2 inches tall and 265 pounds.
Carswell posted on Facebook about the event around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“I was robbed at my job tonight. It was the most scariest thing I ever been through,” the post states.
But police weren’t convinced.
“Morganton Public Safety Investigators were able to watch the video footage from inside the store and discovered Carswell’s story was different than what the video captured,” the release states.
Officers determined Carswell “was not a victim of an armed robbery” after interviewing her.
They later found the stolen cash and a handwritten note listing what the pair needed for the robbery in Moore’s car as well as the weapon and clothing he wore at his house.
Carswell and Moore were charged with armed robbery. Carswell also faces charges for misuse of 911 and filing a false police report. The pair were being held at the Burke County jail under $50,000 bail each.
They were due in court Wednesday, jail records show.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 1:45 PM with the headline "‘Happy couple’ stages robbery to take their relationship to the next level, NC cops say."
