TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Tampa, County Authorities Compare Notes On 3 Robberies

ADVERTISEMENT

By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 1, 2008

Updated: 12/01/2008 11:02 pm

TAMPA - Detectives are trying to determine whether a series of brazen, violent robberies over the weekend are connected.

Tampa police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office are comparing notes to see whether there is a relationship between the robbery of a CVS drugstore at 1212 N. Dale Mabry Highway early Saturday and a Sonic restaurant at 2523 N. Dale Mabry Highway early Sunday.

In both cases, the robbers shot employees who had complied with demands for money. The CVS clerk, Samuel McGinnis, 26, was listed in fair condition Monday night, according to St. Joseph's Hospital spokeswoman Jacqueline Farruggio. The manager of the Sonic was reported in stable condition.

"The robbers in both cases are very dangerous, very brazen individuals," said Laura McElroy, spokeswoman for the Tampa Police Department.

McGinnis' father, Gene, said in a statement released Monday through the hospital that anyone who witnessed the CVS robbery should contact the police because "this is going to happen again to another family like mine unless this man is caught."

After he was shot and a bullet tore through his leg, his son used his belt as a tourniquet to lessen the bleeding, Gene McGinnis said. Samuel McGinnis then called his father to tell him he loved him.
"This is the kind of man that only thinks of others, always," Gene McGinnis said.

Investigators also are looking at the robbery of a Walgreens at 4319 N. Armenia Ave. early Friday. In that case, the robber fired a shot into the floor, but no one was injured.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said deputies don't think the CVS robbery is connected to the other two holdups, but investigators are still talking. She said the descriptions of the robbers differed in the CVS robbery.

"At this point, we still do not know if any of them are connected," McElroy said. "We think there is a possibility. … The investigations are wide open."

According to law enforcement reports, here is what happened in each of the robberies:

Friday, a man entered the Walgreens on Armenia about 7:40 a.m. He was black, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 200 pounds, 20 to 25 years old and wearing a knit camouflage cap with a brim, a ski mask, black knit gloves, full-body ski suit and black boots. He was carrying a silver automatic handgun.

Another man drove a green Dodge Caravan. The man in the store pointed a gun at the floor and demanded money. The cashier had trouble opening the cash drawer, so the man fired a round into the floor near the cashier. The man reached over the counter and removed the cash drawer, then fled to the awaiting van. The pair went south on Armenia.

Saturday, a man in a clown mask with white hair on top walked into the CVS about 12:40 a.m. and fired a single shot into the ceiling. As the clerk opened the register to comply with the robber, the robber shot him twice, then grabbed cash from the register and ran. There were six to eight customers in the store. Investigators described the robber as a black man, 5 feet 8 inches tall, thin build -- about 160 pounds -- and wearing black clothing and gloves.

Sunday, two men wearing ski suits and ski masks pulled up to the drive-through window of the Sonic at 2523 N. Dale Mabry Highway about 6:20 a.m. They forced the manager and another employee who were sitting outside back into the restaurant. While one robber removed the cash drawer from the drive-through register, the other forced the manager to open the safe. As they were leaving, one of the men fired a single shot that hit the manager in the foot. The men drove east on Beach Street in a 1990s model blue Crown Victoria or Grand Marquis with tinted windows. Police have vague descriptions of the robber and none of the getaway driver.

Anyone with information on the robberies can call the Tampa Police Department at (813) 231-6130, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at (813) 274-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS.

Reporter Ray Reyes contributed to this report.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT