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From Robber To BFF -- Thief, Victim Have Become Pals

MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) -- Best friends Blake Walker and Tristen Gibson had a weird first meeting -- he robbed her.

Walker spent three years in prison for robbing Gibson of $198 as she clerked at a Port St. John, Florida, gas station in 2013. He used a broken toy gun, saying now that he needed the money for his drug addiction.

Florida Today reports that when Walker was released from prison last year, Gibson contacted him on Facebook to chew him out because she said the stress from the robbery had caused her to start drinking again. He apologized, but she blocked him from contacting her before relenting a few days later.

Walker now lives in Mississippi, but the two say they talk daily to bolster the other's sobriety.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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