Woman thwarts off robbery at Crawdad’s

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 6, 2019

By Dawn Burleigh

The Orange Leader

 

A man was arrested on Saturday when he robbed Crawdad’s located at 4080 Interstate 10 in Orange.

A man had threatened the clerk. The clerk was able to escape the store while the man, identified as Kenneth Mason, 60, of Orange, remained inside.

“The clerk was at the door as I was opening it,” Kamra Rellford said. “She told me to turn around and call 9-1-1.”

Rellford returned to her car to discover the clerk had followed her.

“The clerk said the man told her to lock in her, him and everyone in the store and he was going to kill everyone,” Rellford said.

As she was backing up her car, Rellford noticed the man was standing in front of the car.

Rellford said she had no time to think about her life could possibly be in danger.

“The clerk saved us both,” Rellford said.

Rellford’s brother, Courtney Zetar sees it differently.

“She saved the clerk’s life that night,” Zetar said. “If she hadn’t been there when she was, the clerk could have died.”

Officers from Orange Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and DPS surrounded the store.

Mason left the store and was immediately taken into custody.

An undisclosed amount of money was found in Mason’s possession, which was the property of the store.

Rellford does not see herself as a hero.

“I was in the right place, at the right time, to help someone,” Rellford said.

Mason was arrested for robbery and transported to the Orange County Jail.