Sheriff’s Office seeks assistance in finding robbery suspect

MARYVILLE – Blount County Sheriff James L. Berrong is asking for the public’s assistance in locating the female suspect in a robbery that occurred early this afternoon at a local business.

Shortly before 1 p.m. today, deputies were dispatched to Richie Kreme Donuts on East Broadway to the call of an armed robbery.  Witnesses in the store told deputies that a woman armed with a rifle came into the store and demanded money from the cashier as well as from the customers.  The woman got away with an undisclosed amount of money, and fled the scene in a white newer model Chevrolet Cobalt.  The vehicle left, traveling west on East Broadway toward Maryville.

The suspect is described as a white female, 5-foot, 11-inches tall to 6-feet tall, and wearing a long brown hooded jacket and brown pants.  Witnesses said the woman wore a black bandana over her face, and the hood of her jacket pulled up over her head.

Anyone with any information regarding this robbery is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division at 273-5001, the 24-hour crime hotline at 273-5200, or through our anonymous Text-a-Tip system, which is available on-line through the BCSO website at www.bcso.com.