CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — The woman officials said drove the getaway car after an armed robbery at a CVS store south of Hickory is a former police officer, according to her family.
Officials said Rebecca Miller helped a man, identified as Bryan Jensen, after he robbed the pharmacy Friday night.
Miller was taken into custody after officials said she led them on a chase at speeds up to 100 mph before crashing the vehicle.
Police charged Miller with conspiracy to commit robbery and fleeing to elude arrest.
Miller's son Evan Woody said he can't believe his mom would be involved in a robbery and police chase.
"There's no way my mom could so such a thing," Woody said.
Woody said Miller worked in law enforcement in Pennington Gap, Virginia when he was a child.
"When she worked in Virginia, she was a police officer for Pennington Gap. She would make a huge bust up there and everything. She was the first female officer in Pennington," Woody said. "Id say what happened? And, I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner what was happening to you."
Deputies said Jensen shot himself in a wooded area early Saturday morning.
A Cleveland County sheriff’s officer was driving down N.C. 74 in Kings Mountain when he spotted Jensen, according to our partners at the Shelby Star.
Deputies said they attempted to talk to him, but he ran into a wooded area. Officers found Jensen dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"Before the deputy could make contact with this person, he retreated to a densely wooded kind of wooded area off of U.S. 74," said Lt. Jody Seagle, with the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office. "Deputies tried making contact, and during that, he was deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
The robbery happened just before 9 p.m. Friday when officials said Jensen demanded drugs at the drugstore on Highway 127.
Police said the Jensen threatened the employees, saying that he had a gun.
“I didn’t stop there last night for some reason. I went on home but normally pick up my prescriptions there Friday afternoon,” said Eric Parsons, who shops at the CVS. “I moved here because it was more or less quiet, but I guess it’s not as quiet as I thought.”
Deputies spotted the getaway car, allegedly driven by Miller, and chased the suspect into Cleveland County.
Channel 9 went to the couple's home near Lenoir, where neighbors told us Miller talked about her law enforcement background.
Neighbors said the night of the robbery, the couple left their dog with them claiming they had a family emergency.
"We were just all in shock. It's unreal," neighbor Jeff Huskey said.
"Just hate this for the both of them. I thought it was a family emergency," neighbor Chris Perkins said.
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