'Old, dirty jar' of pennies rejected, Melbourne store clerk threatened, police say

Melbourne police say they have been tipped off to the possible identity of a woman who tried to pay for goods using what authorities described as an ‘old, dirty jar of pennies,’ before getting into an argument and threatening to kill the store clerk when he rejected the payment method.

“We’re still trying to identify her. Someone called us with the information last night,” said Lt. Steve Sadoff of the Melbourne Police Department.

The woman, dressed in black, turned up about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday at the 7-Eleven, 1700 S. Babcock St. in an incident captured on surveillance camera. Police said the woman picked up several items and then presented the clerk with pennies for payment.

More: $53K winning Fantasy 5 ticket sold at Merritt Island Publix

More: Dragon Point demolition project begins on Merritt Island

“She had a bunch of pennies in a jar. They clerk said they were dirty, gunked-up pennies. That’s when the argument started,” Sadoff said.

The clerk told the woman that the amount of pennies were too much for the store to accept. The woman then got angry, pushing and throwing items off the counter and at the clerk, police report.

The woman then told the clerk that she was going to kill him. She then left the store and returned with two firearms, police reported. The clerk did receive minor injuries in the confrontation, police reported. Several other witnesses were also in the store.

The woman, however, then left again in a white, four-door sedan. It was not immediately known if the woman took her penny jar with her.

Police said she could face several charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery and criminal mischief over $1,000. Melbourne police are now searching for the woman.

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, jdgallop@floridatoday.com and Twitter at @JDGallop