12-year-old holds up store with toy gun

January 08, 2010 3:50 PM

Angel McCurdy

Daily News

WALTON COUNTY – A 12-year-old boy was arrested Thursday after pointing what turned out to be a toy gun at a convenience store clerk in northern Walton County.

Just after 7 p.m., the boy walked into Paxton Tom Thumb on U.S. Highway 331, according to a press release by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the release, the boy pointed a wood barreled, long gun at the clerk and demanded money from the cash register. After handing him an undisclosed amount of money, the clerk told deputies the boy said thank you and left the store.

A Walton County Sheriff’s deputy on patrol in the area noticed the boy walking north on Highway 331. The boy attempted to run before being stopped.

The boy was crying and said, “Please don’t take me to jail,” to the deputy. Authorities found the stolen money and toy weapon used in the stick-up just off U.S. Highway 331.

The boy was first transported to the Walton County Jail, and later transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Crestview.

An investigator for the Department of Children and Families has been contacted, and is assisting the Walton County Sheriff’s Office in the case, the release said.