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9-Year-Old Florida Girl Defends Mom, Fights Thief In ‘Brazen’ Parking Lot Robbery Caught On Video
"We walked out the store and then I took a little glance at him and then I looked back at the car and then I opened my door,” Journee Mobley said. “And then, next thing I know, I saw him running towards my mom.”
A 9-year-old girl, who fought off a man accused of trying to rob her mother in a Florida parking lot was honored by law enforcement for her bravery last week.
Journee Nelson, 9, received a medal from the West Palm Beach Police Federation on Nov. 18 for fending off a “brazen robber” who attacked her mother while the family shopped for groceries earlier this month.
On Nov. 2, the girl’s mother, Danielle Mobley, was unloading groceries to her car when she was “rushed” by a man who shoved her to the ground and attempted to snatch her purse, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Oxygen.com.
“Let go of the purse, you’re going to make me pop you!” the man, later identified as Demetrius Jackson, yelled at Mobley during the violent incident.
Surveillance video of the encounter, released by authorities and reviewed by Oxygen.com, shows a man in a grey hoodie and blue shorts who pounces on Mobley in the parking lot of the Sabor Tropical Supermarket in West Palm Beach.
Seconds after the attack began, Journee Nelson, can be seen striking Jackson several times in the head while he has her mother pinned to the concrete. Bystanders quickly rushed to the mother and daughter’s aid, the recording shows.
"We walked out the store and then I took a little glance at him and then I looked back at the car and then I opened my door. And then, next thing I know, I saw him running towards my mom," Journee Nelson told ‘Fox & Friends Weekend.’
Police later responded to reports of an armed robbery. Jackson, however, had already fled the scene. It’s unclear if he was in possession of a weapon at the time of the alleged theft.
Jackson was arrested three days later. He was charged with robbery and battery.
The West Palm Beach Police Federation later honored the 9-year-old girl during a press conference commemorating her bravery.
"Chief [Frank] Adderley honored a 9-year old child today for bravery as she ran to her mother’s defense to fend off a brazen robbery,” West Palm Beach Police said in a statement posted to Twitter. "An #arrest was swiftly made in this case. The West Palm Beach Police Foundation presented the child with a token of appreciation.”
Jackson also faces additional resisting officers and drug-related charges following his arrest.
According to separate charging documents, Jackson was taken into custody after law enforcement spotted him on the street on Nov. 4. The 29-year-old, who ran from officers, was ultimately subdued by a detective who deployed a taser on him. Officers later found him to be in possession of a “crack pipe.” Two suspected crack cocaine rocks were also found, however, they didn’t immediately test positive on-site for narcotics. The suspected narcotics were since turned over to a county crime lab for analysis.
Jackson pleaded not guilty to resisting arrest and drug paraphernalia charges, however, he hasn’t yet entered a plea for the robbery and battery charges he’s facing, additional court records show. An initial case conference has been set for Jan. 6.
Jackson was booked into a Palm Beach County detention center on Nov. 5, according to online jail records. He’s being held on a $250,0000 bond related to the robbery and battery charges. It’s unclear if he’s retained legal representation.
A judge barred Jackson from having any contact with the robbery victim and her daughter and must stay away from the supermarket where the incident occurred.
