By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
DUNNELLON, Fla. – Vegetable shopping at a Florida Walmart turned scary when officers with guns drawn began chasing an extortion suspect through the fruit and vegetable department, The video from a body camera shows
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The 35-year-old suspect – a convicted felon – was hiding two stolen weapons when they were caught outside, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in an Aug. 26 news release.
The chase occurred on Sunday, August 25, around 5 p.m. at a Walmart in Dunnellon, about 90 miles north of Tampa.
“Officers located his vehicle in the Walmart parking lot… They entered the store and found him in the produce section pushing a shopping cart,” officers said.
“He observed the officers and fled through the entire store to a side exit.”
The chase ended when the man fell to his knees in the parking lot and placed his hands on his head, a video shows.
A search revealed he was carrying “a stolen handgun, ammunition and two clear pipes that tested positive for fentanyl,” officials said. The man then led officers to another stolen firearm, a shotgun, that was “hidden” next to a bush inside the store, officials said.
He is accused of trying to extort cash from a woman by threatening to send nude photos to her acquaintances, officials said.
“The victim told the suspect that he had sent her text messages demanding that she send him money. When the victim refused, he threatened to post sexually explicit photos of her online,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Two days later, (he) sent a sexually explicit video to two of the victim’s friends via Facebook Messenger.”
She alerted the sheriff’s office on Aug. 23 and an investigation revealed that the same man was wanted in connection with the robbery of a gas station in Levy County, just west of Marion County, officials said.
Investigators did not disclose why they searched the Walmart parking lot in Dunnellon, but jail records indicate the suspect lives in Dunnellon.
The suspect is accused of:
- blackmail
- Assault on a police officer (during detention)
- Possession of a weapon by a convicted felon
- Carrying a concealed firearm
- Sexual harassment on the Internet
- Resisting arrest without violence
- Criminal damage to property
- Possession of drug paraphernalia
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