91-year-old veteran robbed of $7,000 while trying to get gas
By Shelby Slaughter
Click here for updates on this story
MARANA, Arizona (KPHO, KTVK) — A 91-year-old veteran is speaking out after he says he was robbed of thousands of dollars.
According to Marana Police, Floyd Barber was at the Fry’s gas station on Silverbell and North Cortaro road on Wednesday when a suspect approached him and stole his money.
Thankfully, he wasn’t hurt. But now, Barber’s says he’s out thousands of dollars.
Barber, who served from 1952 to 1953 in Korea, said “nothing has ever happened like that to me.”
Barber said he’s been saving up for a dental procedure for a year and was on his way to the bank to deposit the money.
He said he was carrying $7,000 with him in an envelope in his back pocket. Details are limited about the suspect. But Barber said it was a woman who came up and took all his savings.
“I turned around and this woman came out of nowhere and started kissing me and hugging me. I didn’t know her. And that’s when she got my money,” he recalled.
He said he thought stopping for gas prior to the bank would be a safe bet, but looking back, he wishes he would have gone straight to the bank. “I was on my way to the bank to put the money in. I had the money at home, saving it. I should have just went to the bank instead of stopping to get gas,” he said.
While he wasn’t injured during the incident he said he’s only looking ahead. He said he has “no choice but to try and just move past it.”
“I’m a good person. It shouldn’t have happened. I give money away even when I can’t afford it. That shouldn’t have happened to me,” he said.
According to the Marana Police Department, officers attempted to get surveillance footage of the incident, but after completing follow up with the store, they learned the system was down. This remains an ongoing investigation.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
