Cops' Eye in the Sky Ends Robbery Spree

Three roommates made it home safe and sound Tuesday after Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies say they went on a quick-hit robbery spree in the Town ‘N Country area.

That security wasn’t meant to last, however.

Shortly after their arrival home, deputies in the county’s aviation unit spotted the red pickup truck victims in three separate robbery incidents described parked outside. It didn’t take long for deputies to close in and make arrests.

The trio’s spree began around 6:29 p.m. when a man at the 8951 W. Waters Ave. HART bus depot was approached by another man demanding his wallet. When the victim handed over the 50 cents he had on him, the robber pulled out a gun, smashed the victim above the left eye and broke his glasses, wrote sheriff’s office spokeswoman Cristal Bermudez Nunez in an email to media. The robber grabbed the man’s backpack and got into a red pickup truck to make his getaway.

The next hit took place at 7:02 p.m. in the Publix parking lot at 7018 W. Waters Ave. In this case, a woman and her son were trying to get into their car when a woman walked up and asked for money. When the victim refused, the robber attempted to take her purse, Bermudez Nunez wrote. The victim, however, managed to hang on to her belongings while the would-be robber fled in a red truck.

Shortly after that failed robbery, the same pickup truck was spotted in the area of Sheldon and Gardner roads. This time a woman jumped out of the truck and grabbed a female victim from behind, demanding money, Bermudez Nunez wrote. When the victim wouldn’t cooperate, the robber pulled a gun and took the woman’s purse anyway.

With three separate robbery victims all describing the same pickup truck, the aviation unit took to the skies to see if it could help. At 7:45 p.m., a truck matching the description was spotted at 8709 S. Meadowview Circle. After interviewing the trio, deputies placed all three under arrest.

They are:

- Willie Toledo, 38, charged with armed robbery

- Lori Beth Fawaz, 44, charged with robbery by sudden snatching

- Amie Lynn Brown, 39, charged with robbery by sudden snatching with a deadly weapon

All three remained in the Hillsborough County Jail Wednesday.