THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 15, 1995 TAG: 9507150334
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
A woman who ran from a mall pet store, carrying a stolen puppy turned on the employee chasing her and zapped him with a stun gun, police said Friday.
The employee was briefly hospitalized, and the woman was charged with robbery and assault.
Police said Roberta G. Amell, 41, used a fake name to order a $900 Maltese puppy from Family Pet Store in Lynnhaven Mall.
When she arrived at the store to pick up the puppy and pet supplies Wednesday, she told store employees she wasn't paying for the puppy and threatened them with her stun gun, police spokesman Mike Carey said. A stun gun can incapacitate a person with a powerful electric shock.
An employee followed the woman and confronted her in another mall store. When he tried to take back the puppy, the woman zapped him with the stun gun. Police identified the employee as Rocky Snyder, 42, of the 1400 block of Snowbooth Lane.
He was treated at a nearby hospital and released.
Two security officers caught Amell in the parking lot and called police, Carey said.
Amell, of the 1200 block of Edenham Court, is being held without bond in the city jail.
KEYWORDS: ARREST ROBBERY ASSAULT by CNB