2 suspects held after chase, bank robbery in Spring Hill
Deputies say a man wanted in connection with a bank robbery, as well as an accomplice, led them on a chase through the streets.
By DUANE BOURNE
Published October 16, 2004
SPRING HILL - A man is suspected of robbing the Hernando County Bank west branch Friday afternoon and leaving with an accomplice in a getaway car. He then led sheriff's deputies on a high speed chase through some of the busiest streets in Spring Hill, authorities said.
No one was injured in the robbery. Two suspects are in custody.
A man walked into the bank at 14300 Cortez Blvd. about 2:56 p.m., slid a note to the teller, demanded money and said he would not hesitate to use his gun.
Once the money changed hands, he ran over to a nearby apartment complex where a woman, his alleged accomplice, was seated behind the steering wheel of a black Toyota Camry wearing a straw hat, authorities said.
Residents at the Carriage Crossing Apartments on Barclay Avenue noticed a suspicious vehicle with dark tinted windows in the parking lot and a woman wearing the hat.
"They did not recognize the car or the driver and called it in," sheriff's Deputy Donna Black said.
Unaware of what was happening next door, residents told a 911 dispatcher that the black coupe had sped away in an unknown direction. Authorities say that at the time the man was driving the car.
Minutes later, a Hernando sheriff's deputy spotted a car matching the description of the vehicle traveling west on Spring Hill Drive and activated the squad car's overhead lights and sirens. Around the same time, deputies heard the bulletin of the bank robbery that occurred miles across town, Black said.
The suspects' car took off, beginning a chase that streamed through high traffic areas and busy intersections at speeds of more than 80 mph.
Sheriff Richard Nugent, who was in the area at the time of the robbery and was one of the first law enforcement officials to arrive at the bank, stood beneath a tree with Sgt. Kenneth Frazier, a handheld radio in his hand.
The suspects had almost reached U.S. 19 when they turned around, racing east on Spring Hill Drive with sheriff's deputies following behind.
"They flew right by me," said witness Kelly Morander, 38, who was traveling with her young son. The Spring Hill resident said the column of cars blew dust onto the windshield of her car.
"We did not know what was going on," she said.
As the pursuit approached Spring Hill Drive and Mariner Boulevard, an accident-prone intersection known as Four Corners, the sheriff worried.
"There is a light there," he said. "Careful ... Careful."
The voices at the other end of his scanner had said that the black coupe was boxed in at the intersection, but soon Nugent learned that the light was green. The chase continued.
As the lead units told dispatchers that the chase had passed Coronado Drive, both Nugent and Frazier thought the driver was trying to head toward the Suncoast Parkway. By then, authorities learned that the Toyota was registered in Tampa, but could not say whether it was stolen.
With responding deputies blocking intersections and laying spike strips that did not seem to slow the suspects, Nugent said that a pursuit on the parkway would not jeopardize as many lives as one through the streets of Spring Hill.
The suspects then turned south onto Anderson Snow Road, a winding road that is less populated and runs parallel to the Suncoast Parkway.
"At least we could stop traffic so he wouldn't kill anyone," Nugent said. "I hope he wrecks it."
The suspects raced through the S-curve on Anderson Snow Road, then headed west on County Line Road.
At the intersection of Preston Hollow Boulevard, the car avoided another set of spike strips Pasco sheriff's deputies deployed in front of the Preston Hollow community.
Authorities stopped traffic at County Line Road and Mariner Boulevard about 2 miles away, but Nugent heard news of a crash over the radio. But he didn't know if it was the suspects or trailing deputies.
Moments later, Nugent learned that it was the suspect.
"You get a pit in your stomach because you are worried for citizens and your deputies," Nugent said, "but they got him."
Black said that deputies deployed the decisive pair of spike strips at the intersection of Mariner Boulevard and County Line Road that the suspects could not avoid. The getaway car careened into the northern shoulder, its undercarriage struck the grassy knoll, and spun around to a stop. Deputies then apprehended both suspects and took them into custody.
"There were 20 deputies that zoomed by here," said Sonya Brown, who stood at the corner. "When he passed here he was doing every bit of 100 mph."
By Friday evening, the Sheriff's Office had not released the names of the suspects, and Black could not say whether the money that was allegedly stolen or a handgun was recovered.
While charges were pending against the man and woman who led deputies on the chase, at least one customer of the Hernando County Bank was displaced by the doors of the bank being closed.
Mary Cook, a 60-year-old resident of the Brookridge mobile home community, had pulled into the Sunoco gas station next to the bank. Cook needed to make a deposit. Her mortgage payment was due at the end of the month, she said.
"We are going on vacation," Cook said, peering through her car's window. "I just wanted to make a deposit. They have a night deposit box, so I think I am okay. Did they catch him?"
