A Leesburg man was apprehended in a multi-county pursuit after an armed robbery on Tuesday.
At 6:30 p.m., Marion County sheriff’s deputies received a call for service in reference to an armed robbery that had occurred at the S&B Cost Cutter Convenience Store located at 8665 South Magnolia Avenue in Ocala, according to a media release. When deputies arrived on scene, witnesses said that a masked subject with a firearm, later identified as 29-year-old Willie Williams IV, robbed the store. Williams fired shots during the robbery, but no one was injured, the release stated. Witnesses were able to give deputies a description of the suspect, as well as a partial tag on his vehicle. A short time after the robbery, deputies spotted the suspect vehicle traveling south on Hwy. 475A. A pursuit was then initiated as Williams fled from deputies through Sumter County, Fruitland Park, Leesburg and Lake County jurisdictions. Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, Fruitland Park Police Department, Leesburg Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office all assisted with the pursuit.
Williams abandoned the vehicle he was driving at 911 Newman Drive in Leesburg and fled from law enforcement on foot. A perimeter was set up by multiple agencies and Williams was located and apprehended by a Lake County Sheriff’s Office K9. The vehicle that Williams was driving, a white pick-up truck, was discovered to be stolen out of Seminole County. Williams was booked into the Lake County Jail on felony charges of fleeing, eluding and resisting an officer without violence by the FPPD. Other agencies are expected to file charges against Williams and the MCSO is actively seeking warrants for multiple charges, including armed robbery.
