DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A husband accused in several robberies with his wife says they committed the crimes to feed their children, according to officer.
Police say they are responsible for robberies in DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cobb counties. The couple targeted women by backing into parking spots at grocery stores and waiting for victims to put their purses in the car while returning their carts, according to officers. They would then grab the purse and take off.
Daniel Zuniga says that’s exactly what happened to his 64-year-old mother at the Kroger on Chamblee Tucker Road.
“She was at the grocery store putting her groceries up. She put her purse down in the car, piled groceries on top of it and then put the cart away,” he said.
Surveillance video shows the couple snatch her purse, nearly knocking the grandmother down in the process.
Luckily, Zuniga’s mother was able to grab their license plate number, which eventually led to their arrest.
“She went that night to do a lineup,” Zuniga said.
DeKalb County police Detective Edwin Perkins said he sent a “be on the lookout” with the information he obtained from Zuniga's robbery and the calls started pouring in from police agencies across metro Atlanta.
“Within a matter of 15-20 minutes they crossed the county line into Gwinnett and used our victim’s credit card at two gas stations,” Perkins said.
Lilburn police say they have three separate cases involving Sidney and Shannon Carter. They said the duo did the same thing at a Kroger, but during that robbery, they grabbed the victim’s scarf, dragging her as they pulled away.
Perkins said when they caught the couple, Sidney Carter confessed.
“(He said) he needed to put food on his table, that he would do anything to make that happen,” Perkins said.
Daniel Zuniga said he is not sympathetic.
“You get out there, you work hard, you do the do the right thing,” he said. “I don’t know where people feel they have the right to go through other people’s stuff.”
Police say while Carter maintained he was trying to feed his kids, the purchases he made on the victims’ credit cards were for gas and cigarettes.
After their arrest, police say they found mounds of evidence at the couple’s home.
“They found a whole bunch of other stuff from other robberies,” Perkins said.
Cox Media Group
