Man Claimed He Kidnapped Sam's Club Employees, Demanded Cash

BRANDON, FL — A Polk County man is behind bars and facing robbery charges after being accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the Sam's Club in Brandon.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, on Wednesday around 6 p.m., Kent Hickman, 32, entered the Sam's Club at 2021 W. Brandon Blvd. and asked to speak with a manager.

Deputies said Hickman told the manager he had taken two Sam's Club employees hostage in a van outside and ordered the manager to give him "everything in the safe" in return for their release.

The manager, who feared for the employees' lives, directed Hickman to the safe and gave him a bag of change. Hickman said it wasn't enough. Fearful of what he might do, the manager opened the store's vault and gave the suspect a black plastic bag containing tens of thousands of dollars.

Hickman was seen on surveillance footage completely covered in a camouflage long-sleeved shirt, hat, green mask and gloves. Surveillance video from outside the store captured him leaving in a white Ford F-150 with nerf bars, a trailer hitch, a ladder in the bed of the truck, and a "4x4" decal on the passenger side of the truck.

The sheriff's office Eye On Crime cameras also caught the truck traveling on 78th Street and Causeway Boulevard earlier in the day. This allowed detectives to identify the truck's license plate and registration.

During a search of Hickman's home, Hillsborough County deputies along with deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office discovered a plastic bag with the stolen money in it.

Hickman was already booked into the Polk County Jail for an incident that occurred within the Bartow Police Department's jurisdiction.

"It's hard to believe this suspect thought he could come into Hillsborough County, commit a crime, and return home with a bag of cash," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "Thanks to our deputies and their teamwork with the Polk County Sheriff's Office, we were able to track this man down and he will face serious consequences for not only the money he stole but the emotional distress he caused to Sam's Club employees."