Wrong man is jailed in robbery

Mistaken identity leads to the error. The correct suspect is identified.

By JOEL ANDERSON, Times Staff Writer
Published December 21, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Joseph Caggiano, 19, was wrongly arrested on Wednesday.

BROOKSVILLE - On his way to a jail cell Wednesday night, Joseph Caggiano told anyone who would listen that he was wrongly accused in the armed robbery of a Sunoco gas station earlier in the week.

"You'll read about me," Caggiano told his jailers. "You'll see someday that I'm innocent."

That day turned out to be Thursday.

Caggiano was released from Hernando County Jail after investigators tracked down another suspect, Timothy Gartner of Spring Hill in connection with the crime.

Gartner, who turned 23 Thursday, now faces felony charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle and possession of stolen property. He was booked into a Pasco County jail and has a bond of $20,000.

"It was a case of mistaken identity by the victims," Hernando Deputy Chief Mike Hensley said. "As soon as we found out there was a doubt, we have a responsibility to make sure someone innocent isn't sitting in jail unnecessarily."

Of course, Caggiano tried to warn them from the start.

Caggiano, 19, turned himself in to Hernando County authorities Wednesday after learning that he was wanted in the robbery of the Sunoco gas station on Barclay Avenue about 8:30 p.m. Monday. Police came by his Brooksville home Wednesday, but he was not there.

Authorities said Caggiano's fingerprints were found on the door to the station's convenience store and the clerk identified him from a group of photos.

Surveillance photos from the store showed the robber lifted his shirt to reveal a small black pistol tucked into the waistband of his pants. The robber escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Caggiano admitted to going to the store earlier in the day, buying a pack of cigarettes - as he does nearly every day - on his way to pick up his little brother from school.

"But how many people have their fingerprints at the store?" Caggiano said.

So, Caggiano endured a roughly 27-hour stint in custody that included relentless questioning from investigators, a cold night on the top bunk of his cell and no food.

"Who wants to eat that slop?" Caggiano said.

Meanwhile, Pasco County authorities had already closed in on Gartner, who was taken into custody at Lollipops, an adult-entertainment spotin Hudson.

Gartner was discovered at Lollipops after allegedly trying to use a credit card that had been reported stolen. He is also accused of stealing a 2007 Ford Five Hundred off the lot of Karl Flammer Ford in Tarpon Springs.

In addition, Gartner is a suspect in at least three robberies in Hernando County, Hensley said.

The clerk at Sunoco later identified Gartner as the man from the robbery, his fingerprints were found at the store and he was also wearing the same clothes as the suspect from the surveillance video, Hensley said.

"He matches the description to a T," Hensley said.

With Gartner headed for jail, Caggiano prepared for a release that came much sooner than expected. Caggiano's mother was stopped just short of posting the $50,000 bond to get him out of jail Thursday afternoon.

Through it all, Sam Caggiano - Joseph's father - never doubted his son's innocence.

"I thought I was having a heart attack," Sam Caggiano said. "My son is 19. ... He's young, dumb and immature. But he would never do something stupid like that. He would never take anything from anyone."

Far from bitter, Joseph Caggiano said he simply wants someone to pay for the two days of work he missed at Keegans Deli in Spring Hill.

And he left with an appreciation for how tough jail really can be.

"That should be a thing for high school students or something," Caggiano said. "It makes me not even want to speed."

Joel Anderson can be reached at joelanderson@sptimes.com or 754-6120.

[Last modified December 20, 2007, 20:36:33]