Police apprehended a 35-year-old woman in California after allegedly using a homemade flamethrower to rob a convenience store of goods valued between $10 and $15. The Manhattan Beach Police Department reported that officers were dispatched to a 7-Eleven store located at 1221 Artesia Road around 3:20 a.m. on November 12 following a robbery report.
The police were informed that a woman had approached the store clerk wielding an aerosol can and a lighter, which she used to create a flame. The suspect reportedly repeated this action several times, directing the fire towards the clerk. Following this, she allegedly stole a few items and fled the scene. The suspect was last seen heading south and was not immediately apprehended. The store clerk, who alerted the police after the woman left the store, was not harmed.
In an effort to identify the suspect, the police released her image captured by the store’s surveillance cameras to local law enforcement agencies. With assistance from another department, a Manhattan Beach police detective and an officer from the Homeless Liaison/Mental Health Evaluation Team were able to arrest the suspect around 8 a.m. on November 12. The suspect was identified as Kimberly Nation.
Nation is now facing charges of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. The case was reviewed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, which filed the charges. Nation is currently being held at the Los Angeles County Jail on a $75,000 bond.
Interestingly, Nation is not a new face at the jail. Her familiarity with the facility reportedly aided the police in identifying her from the surveillance footage. Records indicate that she has been an inmate at the jail at least 12 times over the past two years. This year alone, she has been arrested on February 15, April 24, May 20, June 3, and October 9. The specifics of these charges were not immediately disclosed.