MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis police say a recent store robbery was an inside job. An employee is accused of setting up her own workplace, the Metro PCS store on Elvis Presley Boulevard, to be robbed.
Police say Klista Austin got her fellow employee to go outside and dump the trash so the robber could run inside and take all the money.
The scheme might have worked if the store didn’t catch it all on a surveillance camera.
Police say Austin was caught on camera texting someone just one minute before the store got robbed. While she and another employee were taking out the trash, the robber came in and stole $1,200 from the register.
Police say an hour and a half later, Austin sent another text.
When detectives asked to look at her cell phone, they say the text read, “You got 6. I got 513,” a likely code for her split of the money.
“She should get the same amount of time that he gets,” said Mario Sledge, a Whitehaven resident.
After being taken down to the police station, detectives say Austin admitted her part in the robbery.
Some say the crime gives trustworthy workers a bad name.
“That’s why I’m dressed up. I am trying to apply myself right now so I can get a good job. She’s making it even worse,” said Sledge.
While police continue to look for the person who actually stole the cash, they’re charging Austin with the crime – robbery. She’s being held in jail on a $10,000 bond.