PERRY, Fla. -- The clerks of a Shell Station were robbed at gunpoint by suspects wanted for several crimes across Florida and other states, according Captain Ron Rice with the Taylor County Sheriff's Office.
The robbery happened around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, January 8, at the Johnson and Johnson Shell station in Perry. A suspect walked in with a gun and took an undisclosed amount of money from a cashier.
The suspect then left southbound on US 19 in a GMC Sierra Truck. A deputy caught up with the truck north of Salem, Florida; but the suspect drove away. He soon abandoned the truck near the intersection of Fish Creek Grade and US 19 in Salem, and fled on foot.
Deputies discovered the truck was reported stolen from Covington, Alabama. They scoured the area with canine units, finding a handgun that may have been used in the robbery.
At about 5 a.m., law enforcement received a call about a residential burglary happening near the area of the abandoned truck. Another truck, a Chevrolet Tahoe, was reported stolen from that home.
Deputies issued a Be on the Look Out alert for the vehicle. A deputy from Dixie County spotted the truck in Cross City. The suspect ditched the second stolen truck and reportedly stole a third out of Cross City.
That vehicle and the suspect are still at large. The suspect is described as a white man in his forties. He's about 5'11" tall, brown-haired, and has a stocky build. He was wearing a black knit cap at the time of the Shell Station robbery.
According to WDHN-TV, an Alabama station, a suspect matching the description given from the Shell Station robbery robbed a gas station in Geneva County. A short time later, a gas station in Holmes County, Florida, was robbed. Both of these counties are about 20 miles from Covington, Alabama, where the GMC truck was reported stolen. A photo from the Geneva in-store camera shows a suspect with a black knit cap, just like the description of the Taylor County robbery suspect.
Law enforcement is not confirming if these cases are linked, but they say that the Taylor County suspect is wanted for crimes across Florida and in other states.
The investigation in Taylor County has led to the possible identity of the suspect. The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information can call the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 850-838-3505.
