An employee at an Ocala 7-Eleven was apprehended for grand theft after surveillance footage and a tip from a coworker tied her to the theft of more than $4,000 from the establishment.
On Sunday, May 17, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office officer responded to the 7-Eleven at 8230 SE Maricamp Road in response to a grand theft report. According to the arrest record, a store leader notified the deputy that a cash deposit of $4,257 had been stolen from the back office.
The MCSO analysed video security footage from the store, which apparently revealed that only two people entered the back office during the theft: the store boss and an employee named Alyaa Nafisah Ola Franks.
Franks was allegedly caught on video entering the back office and retrieving cigarette cartons several times between 7:40 a.m. and 10 a.m. However, the investigation stated that at 9:22 a.m. on the day of the incident, she entered the back office, went out of the camera’s view, and then left the room with “nothing in her hand”.
During the subsequent investigation, officers examined another employee, who claimed to have been close friends with Franks since high school. According to the investigation, the coworker claimed that Franks acknowledged stealing the deposit and hiding it in a place that was not visible to security cameras.
The coworker also said that on the day of the event, they saw Franks retrieve the hidden cash and slip it into the front of her pants. Franks then allegedly took the coworker to a nearby store before counting a portion of the stolen money and offering to buy whatever the coworker desired.
On Tuesday, July 7, MCSO investigators found that Franks had probable cause to be arrested, and she was brought into jail and put into Marion County Jail. Later that day, she was released after posting bond, and she is charged with grand theft of things worth $750 to $5,000.
Franks’ court date has not yet been set, according to jail records.
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