Police Pop Pistol-Packing Penny Perpetrator

MARCH 30--Angered that a 7-Eleven clerk would not accept “a large amount of pennies” as payment for items, a woman trashed the Florida convenience store and, with firearms in hand, threatened to shoot the employee, cops report.

According to police, the suspect entered a 7-Eleven in Melbourne around 1:30 AM yesterday and proffered the dirty, grimy pennies. When a “clerk said the amount was too much for the store to take in,” the customer became “enraged.”

The suspect--who was recorded by a store surveillance camera--“began throwing and pushing items off of the counter and at the clerk,” while also threatening to kill the employee.

After leaving the store, the woman returned with a pair of firearms and “indicated she was going to shoot the clerk.” The 7-Eleven worker suffered minor injuries during the confrontation, but did not require medical treatment.

The customer fled the scene in a white vehicle, possibly a Toyota Camry. Cops released photos of the suspect (seen above) and her car in seeking the public’s help in identifying the woman.

After distributing the images, Orlando police reported that they had the suspect in custody on unrelated charges. Adekemi Ayeni, a 20-year-old convicted felon, was arrested Wednesday afternoon after allegedly pointing a gun at another woman during a street dispute.

A search of a white Nissan Sentra being used by Ayeni and a female friend turned up a .38 caliber handgun, a BB gun, a hat “cut to be a ski mask,” and two pairs of “gardening style gloves.” An arrest affidavit makes no mention of a stash of pennies.

While the seized items, cops contended, were “possibly linked to robberies,” Ayeni--who copped to ownership of the hat and gloves--offered a more innocent explanation. “Ayeni said the mask is used as a sex toy for her and her girlfriend,” police reported.    

Ayeni, an Orlando resident, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and booked into the Orange County jail on the felony count. Court records show that Ayeni was convicted last year of carrying a concealed firearm, a felony. Her rap sheet also includes collars for drunk driving, marijuana possession, battery, possession of a controlled substance, and driving with a suspended license. (3 pages)