1 Man Killed By Officers, 1 Arrested For Save A Lot Robbery Sunday

TAMPA, FL — A man accused of taking part in the Mother's Day robbery of a Save A Lot grocery store has been arrested while another man was fatally shot after threatening officers with a gun at a home in Carrollwood.

On Sunday at 8:31 p.m., two men entered the Save a Lot at 150 W Fletcher Ave. and started filling up bags with groceries. As they attempted to leave the store, an employee confronted them. One of the men brandished a shotgun, threatening the employee.

The two men then ran outside and jumped into a car occupied by two people. The vehicle exited the parking lot onto West Fletcher Avenue and headed west at a high speed.

After fleeing the scene, Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies attempted to stop the vehicle for a traffic violation and the men inside the vehicle shot at them.

Related story: Men Rob Tampa Save A Lot With Shotgun, Shoot At Pursuing Deputies

On Tuesday, the U.S. Marshal's Service Task Force received a tip leading them to 30-year-old Pedro Gamez, who is believed to have wielded the shotgun in Sunday's grocery store robbery.

While searching for Gamez, task force officers encountered Rico Dyches, 24, and a woman leaving a home at 2532 Lake Ellen Circle in Carrollwood around 4 p.m Tuesday. They attempted to stop the vehicle, and Dyches rammed the officers' vehicles before getting stopped a block away.

Dyches was taken into custody on active warrants out of Polk County. Both he and the passenger were questioned and told officers that Gamez was inside the home they just left in Carrollwood.

Officers went to the home and, from outside, ordered Gamez to come out. He complied and was taken into custody on warrants related to the Save a Lot robbery.

Task force officers then went inside the home to clear it room by room. On the second floor, they encountered a Hispanic male with a firearm.

Two task force officers, one who is a Tampa police officer and the other who is a Pinellas County sheriff's deputy, fired multiple shots, striking the man. He was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital-North where he was pronounced dead. His identity is not being released at this time, pending next of kin notification.

No officers were injured.

"These were extremely violent individuals with lengthy criminal histories, and it was clear by their actions that they were willing to do whatever it takes not to get arrested. We are thankful that the U.S. Marshal's Service worked with our agency to relentlessly track down Pedro Gamez, but our investigation will continue as we definitively work to link three other individuals to the Mother's Day robbery and shooting," said Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister.

Gamez remains in the Hillsborough County Jail on $62,250 bail, charged with two counts of robbery with a firearm, resisting an officer without violence, robbery by sudden snatching, two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, criminal mischief, felony battery, two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, tampering with physical evidence and grand theft motor vehicle.