ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County deputies are looking for a man they say stole a pregnant woman's necklace as she walked on a sidewalk while in labor.
The robbery happened about 10:30 a.m. Oct. 24 on Long Road near Point Lookout Road.
It was Julienne Antoine's due date. The Orange County woman's necklace was taken in between contractions -- and hours later, she gave birth. Now, detectives are asking for help tracking down the robber.
"I just couldn't believe it," Antoine said. "Who robs a pregnant woman?"
She said she's been asking herself that question over and over.
Orange County detectives released a sketch of the robber Monday afternoon.
Antoine said said she woke up the morning of the incident with her contractions about 20 minutes apart. She decided to go for a walk, hoping her water would break. The walk ended with her running for her and her unborn daughter's safety.
"There was a young man walking toward me," Antoine said. "I just looked at him and smiled, and then he had something in his hand. He was smoking and he kind of threw it out and he just lunged at me."
She said the robber snatched a necklace right off her neck, put it in his pocket and walked away nonchalantly. But when she questioned him and reached for her phone to call 911, Antoine said he came running back -- and her fear flooded in.
"I was like, if he punches me and I fall down and I'm on my due date, I don't want anything to happen to the baby," she said. "I already carried this baby for nine months. I'm not going to let something happen to her."
So Antoine ran in the middle of the road and started screaming. That's when she said the robber took off, leaving her breathless and shaken up to the point she was rushed to the hospital -- where she stayed until she delivered her daughter, Janelle, just hours later.
"She came at 5:30 p.m.," Antoine said. "Thankfully, she was OK. I'm just thinking you know, what if I had ran behind him or something? It could have been worse."
If you have any information on the case, you're asked to call Crime Line at 800-423-TIPS.