DeBARY, Florida — A 17-year-old boy who said he was down on his luck and just trying to help his grandparents pay their bills attempted to rob a DeBary business at gunpoint Wednesday night. However, the lone woman working in the store talked to him for several minutes and convinced him to put the gun away. She then offered the kid a job and had him fill out an application, which he completed using his real name and other information. They even hugged and smoked a cigarette together before the victim went to a nearby convenience store to report the incident. Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies found the boy, Cody Conner (10/11/94), less than half a mile away and arrested him. He was charged with armed robbery and taken to the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Daytona Beach.
Conner walked into Cupid’s Corner, 20 S. Charles R. Beall Blvd., at about 7:20 p.m. and the 32-year-old employee asked him if he needed help. He initially said no, but then a moment later pulled a handgun out of his waistband and demanded “Give me all your money.” The woman told him “Don’t do this. It’s not worth it,” but the boy said he had to because his family was sick and he had to support his grandfather. Nonetheless, the woman still talked to him for about 20 minutes and offered him a job if he would put his gun away. Once the weapon was secured in his pocket, the woman gave him the application and watched him fill it out. Later, the woman said she had to get a drink from the nearby convenience store. The boy left while she called 911.
Deputies went to the address listed in the application and found that it was a place Conner stayed occasionally, but he wasn’t there at that time. But a short time later Conner was found walking a few streets south of Cupid’s Corner. He admitted to committing the robbery, saying that he had been looking everywhere for a job to help his grandparents pay their bills. The weapon was a BB gun, he said, but he had thrown it down near a lake after the robbery. Deputies searched for it, but have yet to recover it to verify Conner’s statement.