Deputies: Arrest made solves several Orange County robberies

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Orange County Sheriff's Office said it has solved several armed robberies with just one arrest Tuesday.

Authorities said they've found the person behind a series of crimes along Orange Blossom Trail.

Detectives said they used Facebook to help track the man down.

Investigators got a tip with the name Andre Freeman and said they were able to positively identify him from surveillance video using his picture on Facebook.

"We were able to use photos of him that we had from his Facebook page to link him video images that we had from several robberies in the area," said Cpl. Steve Strickland of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

In each case, Freeman allegedly leans in just at the clerk opens the register and takes all the money.

"He would hand them a $5 bill to pay for it. As soon as they opened the drawer, he would immediately lunge over the counter and grab the cash from the drawer,: said Strickland.

Authorities said it has happened at least six times, and he was already wanted for two armed robbery charges in North Carolina.

The sheriff's office said the suspect did not hurt any of his victims, but he did make threats.

"If at any point the clerk attempted to struggle, push the drawer closed, things of that nature, he would threaten that he was going to shoot them," said Strickland. "In at least three out of our five cases, he threatened that, 'I will shoot you if you resist me.'"

In one of the cases, Freeman allegedly displayed a gun, but authorities said they haven't located that weapon.

When investigators interviewed Freeman at the sheriff's office headquarters, they said he confessed, and said the crimes were his only source of income.

WFTV