GASTONIA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A woman was charged with robbing a Gastonia business at gunpoint in October after she was recognized as an ex-employee when her facemask fell off, according to the Gastonia Police Department.
Police said the incident happened at a business on S. York Road in late October 2022.
An employee reportedly told officers that a woman wearing a black face mask came into the store armed with a handgun.
The woman demanded cash and struck the employee in the head with the gun, police said.
Investigators said the suspect’s mask fell off during the assault and she was immediately recognized as 25-year-old Natasha Otero, an ex-employee of the store.
Otero fled the business and left her mask and handgun behind.
Police said they obtained a warrant for Otero. She was found and arrested on December 27.
