Woman Accused of Using Fortune Telling Services as ‘Ruse’ to Rob $12K from Another Woman at Gunpoint

Carola Mitchell was charged with robbery with a firearm and kidnapping in the first degree with a firearm, according to police

A woman was arrested after police say she used the guise of providing psychic services in order to rob someone at gunpoint, according to news sources.

Carola Mitchell, 52, was charged with robbery with a firearm and kidnapping in the first degree with a firearm, in addition to three out-of-county warrants, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.

Officers said on May 16, Mitchell had gone to a home and asked the woman who answered the door where she could buy Mexican food and requested some water inside before offering some psychic services, according to WTSP-TV, WFLA-TV and Fox 13 News.

Judith Ramirez told Fox 13 News that her mother-in-law had answered the door and she had briefly checked who was at the door before going into another room to check on her baby. She claimed that was when Mitchell pulled out a gun on her mother-in-law and demanded money.

"She told her that if she doesn't give [her] the money, she was going to hurt us, my baby and I. And then she's like, ‘Okay,’ so she gave her the money," Ramirez recalled to the outlet.

Police said Mitchell stole $12,000 in cash before fleeing in her car, per WFLA-TV. A neighbor’s house managed to capture footage of a white Nissan Rogue leaving the area around the time the robbery occurred, per the outlet.

After a month-long investigation, officers eventually traced the car to Bradenton, Fl., and Mitchell was arrested, police told WFLA-TV.

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Police said the woman had been using her psychic services as "a ruse to gain entry into victims' homes to commit robberies or thefts of cash and jewelry," per WFLA-TV and WTSP-TV.

Investigators also requested a warrant to search Mitchell’s device after she told them that she always kept a phone with her, which they believed may have been in her possession during the robbery and may lead them to other potential victims, per the outlets.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the incident.

Ramirez shared that the frightening incident had an impact on her mother-in-law, saying, "It's really scary, because [my] mother-in-law, when she talks about it, she still cries. The money is gone, but we're happy that we are okay and nothing happened to us.”

Mitchell is currently being held at Falkenburg Road Jail without bond.

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