Armed Robber Targeted Amscot Customers: Report

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — A 25-year-old Manatee County man was arrested Jan. 11 following a rash of robberies targeting Amscot customers, the Bradenton Herald reported.

After watching people cash checks at a Manatee County Amscot, Chike Opene would follow them and rob them at gunpoint, reports said.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrested him for a Dec. 3 robbery. In surveillance footage, Opene is seen following two victims who had just cashed checks to a bar, reports said.

They left the bar shortly after they arrived and drove home, and he continued to follow them. At their home, he pulled behind them in their driveway. Opene threatened them with a handgun and said, “Don’t make me kill you,” reports said. He stole $600 and personal items from them.

His car was seen at the same Amscot in surveillance footage from Nov. 9 and Jan. 2, around the time two other robberies happened, reports said.