The body of Thomas Haskins was a day away from being cremated – and his closest kin didn’t even know he was dead.FORT WAYNE – A Fort Wayne woman told police she was “strung out” on drugs and armed with a plastic toy gun when she robbed two local stores and carjacked two vehicles Sunday.
Traci L. Dennison, 37, was formally charged Wednesday with resisting law enforcement and two counts of armed robbery.
About 9:44 a.m. Sunday, Dennison approached a Kmart employee in the store’s parking lot at 920 Coliseum Blvd. N. and brandished a realistic looking toy pistol. Dennison demanded the employee’s money and vehicle before fleeing in the vehicle, court records said.
A short time later, court records said, she crashed the stolen vehicle into a retaining wall and then fled the scene.
Less than an hour later, Dennison approached a Target shopper at 6119 Stellhorn Road and again demanded the shopper’s money and vehicle, again wielding the toy gun. She fled in the vehicle and was caught a few miles away by a police officer headed to Target in response to the robbery, court documents said.
Dennison was booked into the Allen County Jail at 10:43 a.m. Sunday and was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail.
While being questioned by police, Dennison admitted to stealing both cars and said she was stealing money to pay off a drug debt that she owed to a drug dealer, according to court documents.
Dennison admitted to being under the influence of drugs at the time of both robberies.
