August 31, 2009

(Buckingham County, VA) -- Monday was Frances Baber's 78th birthday. She thought she'd spend the day working in the convenience store that's been in her family for more than 30 years. But plans for a happy birthday came to a frightening halt when she was suddenly faced with a shotgun.

Baber was sitting near the register when a man wearing a bandanna over his face burst through the door, and demanded money.

"It scared me so bad when he came in. I jumped up," said Baber.

Baber says the incident took seconds, but shook her up for hours after it took place. Her son, who runs the store now, says he was making a bank deposit when it happened and couldn't believe it when he came back.

"It's upsetting, it's frustrating, and you just don't know what to do," said Larry Baber.

Police say the suspect is 19-year-old Malcolm Mosley and that after the robbery, he took off on foot, ditching the shotgun in the woods across the street. Police dogs searched the area, but the surveillance video is what led to his arrest.

Baber says the first thing she thought of was her husband, who was also robbed and beaten in the same convenience store more than ten years ago. Her husband eventually died from those injuries.

"It was rough. That was rough, and this is rough. I never dreamed anything like this would ever happen to me," said Frances Baber.

Frances says as long as the store is open, she'll continue to work there.

"She went through what she went through with my father, and I think that was more than enough for anybody to have to go through in a lifetime, and now she's gotta go through this," said Larry Baber.

Authorities, recognizing Mosley's tattoos, eventually tracked him down near his home.

"Most of the trouble he's had has been as a juvenile but the last couple days he's been having trouble at home," said Buckingham County Sheriff Bill Kidd.

As for the Babers, they say they'll try and move on.

"Life goes on, so you're going to have to make the best of it," said Frances Baber.

Mosley faces several charges including armed robbery, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

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State and local police have arrested 19-year-old Malcolm Mosley after an armed robbery at a convenience story on Route 20, three miles south of Scottsville.

Virginia State Police, Albemarle County Police and Buckingham County Police all responded to the scene after reports of an armed robbery around 9:45am Monday morning at the PNS Appliance convenience store.

Police have recovered the shotgun used in the robbery and the money taken from the story. The shotgun was found in the woods, across the street from the store. And the money, $100 cash, was found in a bag in the same area Mosley was detained.

The area was cordoned off as search dogs looked for the robber.

Police say no one was hurt during the robbery.