'Diamond Diva' allegedly received criminal training at Atlanta auto shop
03/09/2016 12:46 pm PST
Crime Watch Daily update on the story of an aspiring model dubbed the "Diamond Diva."
Not only does she look like a million bucks, police say she also stole millions of dollars' worth of jewels.
New details have been released about how investigators believe Abigail Kemp trained for her cross-country crime spree.
The FBI now claims Kemp underwent training in a course that might be called "Robbery 101." Crime Watch Daily has obtained the federal affidavit that describes in detail the alleged training at an auto-tinting shop just outside Atlanta's posh Buckhead District.
The affidavit says the shop's owners, Michael and Larry Gilmore, along with another alleged accomplice, Lewis Jones, "Instructed her on the proper way to manipulate a handgun, how to secure the employees with zip-ties, and what merchandise to steal from the store."
The affidavit states they gave Kemp "various code words to use when communicating during the jewelry store robberies," and that they would even pick out the clothes she would wear during the jobs.
Police say Kemp would enter a jewelry store when it opens, ask to see a piece of jewelry, and when the clerk pulls it out, Kemp allegedly pulls a gun. She then allegedly takes the employees into a back room, orders them to lie down on the floor, and zip-ties their hands. Then the suspect locks the front door and fills a bag with loot from the display case.
Kemp is reportedly a former model who worked at Twin Peaks and Hooters restaurants, and at one time played in the Lingerie Football League. She reportedly grew up in a million-dollar home in an affluent neighborhood of Marietta, Georgia.
The feds say Kemp has stolen more than $4 million worth of bling at stores in five Southern states: Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.
How did they catch her? The feds say her cellphone "pinged" towers at or near all the robbery locations. They also found a photo of a maroon Honda on her social media accounts that matched one seen in surveillance video.
Kemp and Jones have pleaded not guilty.
The Gilmore brothers from the auto-tint shop haven't yet entered pleas.
If convicted they face potential sentences of 20 years in federal prison.
