Ormond-by-the Sea, FL - The woman the Volusia Sheriff's Office say robbed the Publix in Ormond-by-the Sea on Friday (February 21) is in custody. Deputies arrested 28-year-old Kayla Kangas not long after she robbed the store.
An employee at the store's customer service desk said a female suspect in her 20s approached the counter, passed a note demanding money, took the cash and left. She was wearing a dark baseball cap, a dark hooded Nike sweatshirt with the hood pulled over the cap, and dark pants.
While the robbery was taking place, deputies were already at the home Kangas was renting on River Drive. They had been contacted by her landlord about the rent being past due. While the deputies were talking to the landlord, who thought Kangas was in the house, dispatchers toned out the robbery call at Publix around 11 a.m.
Deputies started searching the area and contacted the landlord to see if Kangas had returned. The landlord said that she had but left quickly with her boyfriend. He confirmed that she was wearing the same type of clothing as was described by the Publix customer service employee.
Kangas was spotted driving her car on Ocean Shore Boulevard near Granada Boulevard later that afternoon and deputies conducted a traffic stop about 3:15 p.m. She was turned over to detectives for an interview and charged with robbery and grand theft.
She remains in the Volusia County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
