A person wanted in connection with a string of armed robberies in Brevard County over the holiday weekend is in the custody of deputies in the Jacksonville area, Cocoa police said Monday, and a stolen car helped lead authorities to him.
"My parents work very hard, and for him to do this is a very gross act," said the daughter of the owners of Joe's Bestway Deli in Cocoa, who declined to be identified. Her parents were working this past Saturday on the holiday weekend when an armed man stormed in, pointed a gun in her father's face and demanded money.
"He handed over the keys, because the guy had the gun pointing toward him. Keys vs. life," she said.
The keys were to their home, business and 2007 Honda Accord, in which the suspect fled.
The daughter said she then logged into her SunPass account online and followed the car's movements through toll plazas.
"We had a SunPass sticker. He was on (State Road) 528, getting on, getting back off, like 15 times," she said.
Cocoa Police think the suspect first robbed a Days Inn on State Road 524 at gunpoint on Friday morning. The clerk on duty reported that a white man armed with a semiautomatic handgun threatened to kill her if she didn't hand over money. The clerk complied, and the suspect fled in a vehicle later found at a Budget Inn on State Road 520, police said.
About noon Saturday, the Sunny Food Store at 755 Clearlake Road in Cocoa was robbed at gunpoint, and that clerk also reported that a white man with a semiautomatic handgun threatened her and demanded money. Before she could do so, however, a customer walked in, and the suspect fled without cash, according to police.
A short time later, authorities received an emergency call from the owners of Joe's Bestway Deli at 1129 Peachtree St. in Cocoa. The callers reported the same description for the suspect, who demanded cash and the keys to their car. The deli owners weren't hurt, but the suspect fled in the Accord.
The daughter then logged into her SunPass account and helped detectives by tracking the Accord. Soon, a friend of the suspect came forward and told police that the suspect was staying at a Jacksonville motel and that the stolen Accord was outside.
The Accord was later found at a Knights Inn Motel in Jacksonville.
"That was the vehicle we were looking for, and the suspect was in fact there, and he was taken into custody by Jacksonville Sheriff's deputies," said Yvonne Martinez of Cocoa police.
But "it still won't take away the damage he did to my parents emotionally," the deli owners' daughter said.
Cocoa Police are traveling to Jacksonville to arrest the suspect, who so far has given authorities there a false name. They are also in the process of returning the family's stolen car.