Crime & Safety
Gumby Gives Himself Up
Teen turns himself in, says he was the one who donned the animated character's green duds and tried to rob a store clerk; his sidekick (not Pokey) came along too.
He may have feet of clay, but the Gumby bandit decided to come clean today.
A young man who dressed as the green animated character when he allegedly tried to rob a San Diego convenience store turned himself in Tuesday morning, according to police.
The attempt was so inept that the surveillance video soon made the attempted robbery a national punchline, featured on CNN, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, among other network and cable TV shows.
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Jacob Kiss, 19, brought the full slanty-headed green costume with him when he arrived at downtown police headquarters, Detective Gary Hassen said. Accompanying the suspect was his Pokey, alleged cohort Jason Giramma, also 19, who served as getaway driver following the failed Sept. 5 hold-up, according to Hassen.
Investigators questioned Kiss and Giramma and confiscated the Gumby duds before releasing the pair. Hassen said police will forward the evidence to the District Attorney's Office for possible prosecution.
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The hijinks began shortly after midnight on Labor Day, when the Gumby impersonator entered the 7-Eleven in the 9700 block of Carmel Mountain Road, in Rancho Penasquitos, waving his arms in the air.
Gumby, accompanied by a man in street clothes, confronted a clerk and announced, “This is a robbery,” Hassen said. Thinking it was a joke, the employee replied, “I have cleaning to do, and I don't have time for this,” according to Hassen.
The man in the Gumby getup then claimed to have a gun and began
struggling with his unwieldy suit, as if trying to retrieve a weapon. Fumbling around, he only managed to drop 26 cents in change, which he was unable to pick up.
His companion wandered out of the store, retrieved a white or silver minivan, and pulled in front of the business, Hassen said. After the driver honked his horn a few times, the would-be robber walked out and the pair drove off.
The victim, still unconvinced an actual holdup had occurred, did not report it. A manager decided to call the police about six hours later.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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