Police are hoping to identify a man they say raised a sledgehammer toward a store employee after he made off with nearly $2,000 worth of items and store property Monday.
The man, who police still are working to identify, gathered up more than $1,100 worth of camping gear in a shopping cart, which alone was worth $750, said Lt. Josiah Brown with the Morganton Department of Public Safety.
When he left the store in the Morganton Heights Shopping Center shortly after 6 p.m., Brown said the man raised a 2.5-pound sledgehammer toward a store greeter, loaded the entire cart of items into the bed of a red Chevrolet Silverado and took off.
Anna Brown-Walker and her husband, Jaimeson, had just loaded their two sons into a cart and were walking into the store when they said the man went by them with the sledgehammer held up in his arm.
“He wasn’t paying attention and he hit the doors (with the cart) so hard, the doors actually swung open,” Jaimeson said.
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It was quite an experience, the couple said, and something their young kids both spent the night talking about.
“It’s something that doesn’t happen every day, that’s for sure,” Jaimeson said. “It’s not something that I was expecting … It’s not something that you want to see, especially with your kids.”
No one was injured in the incident, Brown said, and investigators still are working to find the man, who could be facing charges of felony larceny and common law robbery.
Anyone with information on the man’s identity or whereabouts is asked to call Morganton/Burke Crimestoppers at 828-437-3333. Tips are anonymous, and information leading to an arrest could result in a cash reward.
Chrissy Murphy is a staff writer and can be reached at cmurphy@morganton.com or at 828-432-8941. Follow @cmurphyMNH on Twitter.