Kemp was arrested Friday in an apartment in the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
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The FBI analyzed data from cellphone towers near the jewelry stores, pictures from Kemp’s social media accounts, store surveillance and tips from the public to identify her and Jones as suspects in the robberies, authorities say in court records.
Two separate criminal complaints filed in the northern district of Florida charge Kemp and Jones with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by threats or violence.
The FBI office in Jacksonville, Florida, said last week that it was looking for a woman believed to be involved in six jewelry store robberies in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, adding that a man was seen with the woman on surveillance video during some of the robberies.
A turning point in the case came from a specific phone number with an area code out of north Georgia, court records reveal.
Stephanie Godfrey, who knew Kemp from high school in Smyrna, Georgia, told INSIDE EDITION she was shocked when she allegedly saw Kemp on surveillance footage released by authorities.
Authorities said in each case Kemp targeted outlet stores, tied up salespeople in back rooms at gunpoint and then stole watches, diamonds and other baubles while wearing gloves to prevent fingerprints.
The objective of Monday’s appearance, Judge Linda T. Walker said, was to alert Kemp of the charges pending against her. She has not yet entered a plea.
How did one jewelry thief, Abigail Lee Kemp think to go on a string of heists without a disguise or covering her tracks?
“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.
“She thought she could get away with a lot”, Godfrey also said. They also said she has a handgun and recently had her auto painted black. The feds heard from the public after agents released word of the January 4 robbery of a Jared Vault in Mebane, N.C., agents said in a statement Saturday.
The last heist according to FBI investigators involved the woman holding up store employees at gunpoint, zip-tying their hands before robbing the store.
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In at least one of the robberies, in Panama City Beach, a male accomplice is seen on video removing the front door stop and letting the front door close while he remained outside of the store.
