Smoke shop robbery suspect appears in court

JORDAN FOUTS, The Elkhart Truth, Ind.
·2 min read

GOSHEN — An Elkhart woman has been arrested on a warrant charging her with robbing a tobacco shop and leaving a clerk with a bloody nose last year.

Lorain Childs, 29, was recently arrested on a warrant issued in September charging her with robbery resulting in injury as a Level 3 felony. Her charges also include battery as a Level 6 felony.

Police say she punched a cashier in the face after stealing a vape pen from a tobacco store a year ago.

Childs was booked in the Elkhart County Correctional Facility on $75,000 bond. During her initial court hearing Thursday, she was given a public defender and a preliminary trial date of Dec. 16.

According to court documents:

Elkhart police responded to a robbery report at Jams Smoke Shop on Nappanee Street just before 2 p.m. on May 22. They spoke with an employee who was visibly shaken and was holding a tissue to her nose and mouth, which had fresh blood on it.

She said a couple entered the store and the man engaged her in conversation while the woman grabbed a vape pen that was in front of the register and tucked it under her shirt. The pair then left the store.

The employee said she went outside to confront the woman, telling her that she wouldn’t call the police if she returned the vape pen. She also retrieved her phone so she could photograph the car that the couple arrived in.

She alleged that the woman returned a vape pen that was different from the one she took. The suspect also became agitated when she tried to photograph their vehicle, and blocked her from going back inside to call police, according to the employee.

The woman then struck her twice in the face with her fist, causing a great deal of pain, the employee said.

After publishing images of the suspects from surveillance footage, police received a tip naming Childs as the woman in the footage who appeared to be in her 20s and another suspect as a man apparently in his 50s. Police say they confirmed their identities based on photos found on social media as well as law enforcement and driving records.

Police tried to find Childs at her address in order to serve arrest warrants that were active at the time, but no one answered the door. Court records do not indicate that the male suspect who was named has been charged in connection with the robbery.