PAYSON, Utah - A Utah County woman is in custody after she allegedly held up an assisted living center in Utah County.
The Utah County Sheriff's Office said a suspect went into Elk Ridge Assisted Living in Payson and threatened two employees with a handgun and a stun gun at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Chris Hermansen, the owner of the facility, says the suspect carefully planned the robbery. He says she called the front desk and claimed a resident was locked outside.
“To us it looked like it was just a concerned citizen that saw someone out in the middle of the night,” Hermansen said.
When the employee opened the door, the suspect forced her way inside. The other employee ran into a room, locked the door and called 911.
“She knew that she could lure an employee out,” Hermansen said. “She knew this place well enough.”
Deputies said the suspect, dressed in all black with their face covered, ordered the other employee into the main office where medications are stored.
Officials said the armed suspect gave the employee a can of shaving cream and ordered her to spray the security cameras.
The suspect ordered the employee to unlock a medication storage box, but she wasn't able to open it.
“She didn’t have access to the keys, so what this perpetrator was trying to get, could never get, so she was frustrated and left,” Hermansen said.
Authorities said the suspect then grabbed the two employees' backpacks and ran from the facility. No residents or staff were injured.
The employee who originally called 911 reported the suspect to be a man.
Deputies arrived, confirmed the armed suspect was actually a woman and checked the building to ensure she was not inside.
After reviewing surveillance footage, employees determined the suspect was 44-year-old Becky Jean Gavin Golly, a former employee who had been fired six weeks earlier.
Detectives later found Golly at her home in Provo.
She admitted to the robbery, charging $2,000 on one of the victim's debit cards, and to writing a $500 check from one of the victim's accounts.
Detectives also found the shaving cream can and the clothing she was wearing during the alleged crime.
Meth, prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia were also found at her home.
Golly was booked for aggravated robbery, fraud, forgery and weapons charges.
Drug charges may be added.
Her cash-only bail was set at $50,000.
Golly has previous convictions for theft, fraud and drug-related crimes.
Hermansen says he will learn from this incident and install security upgrades to his facility.
“It had a good outcome in the fact that we learn from it and become a better facility and better staff,” he said
