LEESBURG, Fla.,None — Leesburg police said Friday they caught the six thieves behind six armed robberies. Some of the crooks were just kids, but police call them ruthless robbers. The youngest crook is 14 years old.
Some, but not all, of the robberies were connected. Police say the 16-year-old who robbed a Dollar General was the ringleader for two other holdups.
Police cracked several cases just this week.
Leesburg police say a masked robber who put a gun to the head of a clerk at the Dollar General on Palmetto Street is the same suspect who held up a Dollar General on 14th Street and is suspected of robbing a pizza delivery man on West Line Street. Detectives say the teen suspect had partners in crime.
"You can have robbery crews running around and doing things, and this case is what it looks like. We solve one, it piggy-backs on another one, we find yet another one," said Captain Rob Hicks, Leesburg Police Department.
The accused leader of the pack, 16-year-old Vinzett Watkins Jr., is a student at Leesburg High School. Police said his crew included 16-year-old Jacques Tanner, also a Leesburg High School student, and 14-year-old Emari McDuffie who attends Oak Park Middle School.
So far, Tanner and McDuffie are only charged with their involvement in the pizza holdup.
"Evidence was found, which was the pizza bag from the Hungry Howie's robbery, in the house connected to the Dollar General," Hicks said.
Police have also arrested and charged 49-year-old Michael Washington, accused of robbing a Murphy USA gas station.
The armed robber who barged into a guest room at the Lee Motel, 19-year-old Guy Johnson, is charged with that incident. And Frederick Lee Glover is also jailed, accused of holding up the Family Grocery on Canal Street, close to the Leesburg police headquarters.
Detectives say sometimes cracking one armed robbery can mean solving several cases, similar to catching a burglar.
"You make one or two arrests, and you solve 10, 12, 14 or more cases off of that," Hicks said.
Police say the teens could face more charges and there could be more arrests ahead.
WFTV
