Delhi police: 69-year-old Kroger employee assaulted by would-be shoplifter

A 69-year-old woman has two black eyes following an assault inside a Kroger Sunday morning, Delhi police said.

Lt. Joe Macaluso told WCPO the woman is an employee at the store on Delhi Pike.

"She's upset that it happened," he said. "She's upset that anyone would do something like this."

Macaluso said shortly before 11 a.m., the employee confronted a woman using a self-checkout scanner, believing the woman was not paying for some items.

Moments later, the shopper allegedly assaulted the employee, punching her between eight to 10 times in the face before running off.

"It's pathetic. It is absolutely pathetic that somebody would turn to violence for anything," Macaluso said. "Certainly no one expects to be assaulted while just doing their job."

Police reviewed store surveillance video to try and locate the suspect, Macaluso said. It didn't take long for road officers and members of the investigations team to identify a car leaving the parking lot and tag its license plate.

The investigation eventually led police to 24-year-old Maliyah Robbins. She agreed to turn herself in Sunday night, Macaluso said.

"​People need to realize the moment you become violent — the moment you resist, the moment you start to struggle with loss prevention — you've changed it from probably a misdemeanor to a felony, from a theft to a robbery so people need to take that into consideration," he said.

Police charged Robbins with robbery and assault. Court documents show a Hamilton County judge Monday morning set Robbins' combined bond at 10% of $6,000, which she has since paid.

Robbins has no prior history of violent crime.

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