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News

Gumby Bandit Could Face Time in the Pokey

7-Eleven surveillance camera footage. Screengrab from KGTV video.

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A man who dressed up as the claymation hero Gumby and his accomplice could face time in the pokey.Jacob Kiss, 19, and his accomplice PokeyJason Giramma, also 19, turned themselves into police after they were caught on tape demanding cigarettes from a convenience store clerk over the Labor Day weekend.

Dressed in his Gumby costume, Kiss asked the clerk for cigarettes and told the clerk not to waste his time. At one point, he said he had a gun. He seemed to fumbled for a gun, then dropped some loose change and took off. The clerk thought it was a joke, but his boss reviewed the surveillance footage and alerted the authorities that there was an armed Gumby on the loose.

The pair say that the bizarre incident was a prank that crossed the line. Giramma told Fox 5 News over the phone the two were goofing off and didn't try to rob the store. He said they didn't even have a gun — they just wanted some cigarettes.

"He said the clerk blew what happened out of proportion," said Giramma's friend Meaghan Daly. She told Fox 5 News that he was a prankster and carefree.

Kiss and Giramma were questioned for several hours by robbery detectives and released, according to the Chicago Tribune. The case has been forwarded to the District Attorney's Office to determine if charges will be filed.

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