3 men rob KFC, customers at gunpoint

By BELTON WHITE
Item Staff Writer
bwhite@theitem.com

Three men wearing ski masks and armed with handguns and a shotgun entered the KFC, 4630 Broad St. Extension, on Sunday afternoon and robbed the store and its customers of an estimated $1,400 or more.

No one was injured in the incident that took place just before 2 p.m., but the employees and customers were forced into a walk-in, commercial refrigerator, where they heard a gunshot fired during the incident, according to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.

The incident is similar to one that took place in Winnsboro last week, Sheriff Anthony Dennis said Monday.

A 59-year-woman who works at the restaurant told sheriff's deputies that three black males wearing ski masks entered the restaurant with guns and a green bag and made customers put their personal belongings – like keys, purses and money – into the bag, along with the money from the cash register.

One of the men was described as having brown eyes, standing 6 feet tall, 220 pounds, wearing a black ski mask, dark clothes and gloves and carrying a shotgun.

Another robber was reported as having a lighter skin complexion with brown eyes, standing 5 feet 5 inches tall, 180 pounds, wearing a black ski mask, dark shirt, cream shorts and gloves and carrying a silver handgun, which one victim said looked like it was .380-caliber.

The third man was described as having brown eyes, standing 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, wearing a black ski mask, gloves, dark clothes and carrying a black handgun, which one victim said looked like a 9 mm.

The employee said the robbers then forced them into the cooler in the back of the business. They also made the woman show them where the rest of the money is kept, then got the money out of the file box, but not out of the safe.

While waiting in the cooler for the men to leave, the customers and employees heard a gunshot. They waited for about five or 10 minutes before leaving the cooler. Investigators found a .380-caliber shell in the back of the store by the cooler.

Dennis said it doesn't appear that the robbers were local. He compared Sunday's robbery to an incident that occurred in Winnsboro on Oct. 25.

"They had one almost identical" to this incident, he said. "The only difference was that a shot wasn't fired" in Winnsboro.

Dennis said that the robber probably fired the gun as a form of intimidation, as there was nothing to provoke it.

Other witnesses reported seeing a truck leave the scene at the time of the incident, but the direction was unknown, according to Dennis.

Of the 11 people forced into the cooler, Dennis said seven people were customers and four were employees.

If any agencies or witnesses have similar crimes, need further information or have any information that may help the sheriff's, they can contact sheriff's Sgt. Clarence McMillan at (803) 436-2000 or Crime Stoppers at (803) 436-2718. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.