After three violent robberies, including kidnapping and a carjacking in New Tampa, the Tampa Police Department (TPD) reports that a teenage suspect is in custody.
TPD announced on July 27 that detectives were trying to identify the suspect involved in three violent robberies, including two at the Travel Lodge on E. Busch Blvd. and one at the 7-11 on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in New Tampa in front of Home Depot.
After what is being called an “exhaustive search,” during which time detectives followed several leads and conducted numerous interviews, 17-year-old Rolondo Noel Williams was arrested at his home on Calder Place at around 9:15 on July 27. Williams is charged with armed robbery and armed kidnapping.
The robberies occurred between July 22-26. In each robbery, Williams reportedly struck up friendly conversation with the victims, before robbing them at gunpoint.
The most recent robbery occurred at the New Tampa 7-11 on July 26 at 8 p.m. TPD reports that Williams approached the victim at a gas pump and started a conversation. Once done pumping gas, the victim attempted to end the conversation and got in the car. Williams hopped in the passenger seat and pulled out a gun, demanding a ride to the victim’s home. Once at the victim’s home, Williams ordered the victim’s mother, niece and nephew at gunpoint into the car and demanded they drive to an ATM and take out money. Williams reportedly held the gun to the victim’s eight-year-old niece’s head throughout the drive. After forcing the victim to take out money, Williams fled on foot. The incident was captured by surveillance cameras.
In the previous robberies at the Travel Lodge (which occurred on July 20 and July 22 at 3:30 a.m. and 12:30 a.m., respectively), Williams reportedly followed victims to their hotel rooms, where he robbed them at gunpoint. TPD reports that in one case, Williams pistol whipped the victim and may have attempted to fire, but the gun failed to discharge.
Since the robberies, the TPD report says that Williams has attempted to pawn some of the items that he’s stolen at the Pawn Max store on E. Fowler Ave. Detectives are still attempting to identify four females involved with the case. Two female suspects were present at the New Tampa robbery and two separate female suspects were with Williams when he attempted to pawn items.
Anyone with any information regarding this case and who wants to be eligible for a cash reward is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477), report anonymously online at CrimeStoppersTB.com, text CSTB plus your tip to 274637 (CRIMES) or send a mobile tip using the TipSubmit Mobile application, which is a free download for iPhones, iPads, and Anroid devices.
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