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Three people were arrested and charged with robbing a Waffle House in North Carolina. As per the Hillsborough Police Department, on Monday, the family had a meal at the diner and then robbed the store at gunpoint.
The family, originally from Texas, was arrested with the help of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office and the US Marshals Service.
They have been identified as Tamiko Lashun Jones and Tony Eugene Lemon. They hail from Marshall and Diamond Walton, Texas.
The suspects have been charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. The authorities also added charges of defrauding an innkeeper.
Waffle House robbery not the first for the suspects
The suspects allegedly face similar outstanding charges from an incident in Minden, Louisiana, a few days before Monday’s robbery and could be charged with additional robberies.
Police also gave details about how the robbery took place. As per the reports, the suspects were part of a family of six. They entered the Waffle House in Shelby, North Carolina, for a meal and proceeded to commit the robbery afterward.
Lemon, the main suspect, drew a handgun and demanded money from the restaurant employees before fleeing to a nearby gas station.
They all ran in different vehicles. Diamond Welton, charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, ran in a burgundy Ford F-150 truck with Texas plates.
The other two, Tamiko Lashun Jones and Tony Eugene Lemon, escaped in a newer model silver Ford Fusion sedan with Texas plates.
Crimes continue to follow Waffle House
Waffle House is a 24-hour diner chain popular across the country. There has always been a strange relationship between diners and crime as an unusually high number of these occur at diners. It is so common that movies also show diners as a target of criminals.
While there are many theories that claim to understand the relationship between crime and diner, there might be a logical explanation. The 24-hour nature of these diners makes them an easy target. Many diners are located outside city limits and might be difficult for law enforcement to reach quickly.
Most diners and similar establishments cater to customers across the spectrum. They also act as meeting points for people. Such a place is likely to have tremendous variation in the number of people coming through. Diners usually also operate with minimum staff during the nights. Most diners don't have a dedicated security protocol either. All these reasons might leave them vulnerable.
