Suspect in jewelry robberies cries softly at her 1st hearing

The last heist according to FBI investigators involved the woman holding up store employees at gunpoint, zip-tying their hands before robbing the store.

“We continue to thank the public for providing us with information that helped our agents identify and locate these suspects”, said Michelle S. Klimt, special agent in charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division.

A criminal complaint accuses Kemp of conspiring with others to rob six jewelry stores in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Kemp told agents that in the beginning she would go into a jewelry store with an open cellphone line so Jones, whom she called “Lou”, could hear her interaction with store employees, the Federal Bureau of Investigation agent’s statement says.

Kemp became the target of a national search after authorities released videos of the heists. Her former friend Stephanie Godfrey described her as a mischievous and confident girl. Federal court records do not indicate whether Jones has a lawyer.

According to the affidavit, “The citizens have advised law enforcement that the female depicted in the pictures is Abigail Kemp”.

JSA reported that losses from the six robberies totaled more than $4 million, according to a report on abcnews.

Kemp looked unhappy while undertaking her perp walk into court Monday, and is said to have wept in front of the judge, which is all understandable and should be a reminder that jewel theft is probably a lot more trouble than it looks. If convicted, Kemp could receive up to 20 years in prison.

Jones threw one pistol under a bed as agents entered the apartment in Smyrna, Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta, to make the arrests Friday. The FBI was also looking for a black male suspect captured by surveillance cameras during two of the jewelry heists that they believed to be her accomplice.

A maroon Honda Civic registered to a member of Kemp’s family was spotted on surveillance video from two robbery locations, the documents say. Authorities allege Kemp visited the store the day before the robbery.

The 24 year old’s court appearance came after a string of robberies which allegedly began in April 2015 all the way until her last hold up on January 4 in Mebane, North Carolina.

“Some citizens further advised that during recent contacts with Kemp, he was wearing expensive jewelry that some of the callers believe she can not afford”, Borghini wrote.