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St. Pete Police Arrest Teen In Series Of Armed Robberies

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 14, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Police investigating three armed robberies Sunday night came across the getaway vehicle and chased it until it wrecked, police say.

All but one of the three or four people in the stolen Nissan Altima bolted and have not been identified, but one was arrested, said St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman George Kajtsa.

Arrested was 16-year-old Sebastian Williams, a student at Hamilton Disston, a school for severely emotionally disturbed children.

Kajtsa said the first robbery occurred at 8:43 p.m. in the 5200 block of Third Avenue North. A 29-year-old man was approached by several armed teenagers or young men and made to lie on the ground, Kajtsa said. He was robbed of his wallet and cell phone but managed to get a partial license plate number, Kajtsa said.

Two minutes later, a 49-year-old pizza delivery driver was robbed nearby at 281 53rd St. N., Kajtsa said. The pizza deliveryman was in his car when he was approached by three people with guns, and he gave them more than $200 cash. He, too, got a partial license plate number, Kajtsa said.

At 10:14 p.m., three people – a woman, 24, and two men, 26 and 19 – were robbed as they were leaving a friend's house at 4162 13th Ave. N., Kajtsa said. As the three were getting in their vehicle, the robbers drove up in an Altima. The occupants got out of the Altima and robbed the trio, who by then had gotten in their own vehicle, Kajtsa said.

Williams reportedly threatened one of these victims, Kajtsa said.

An officer responding to a report of the third robbery saw an Altima with matching tag numbers, Kajtsa said. He tried to pull the car over, but it bolted, Kajtsa said.

The pursuit began at Central Avenue and 46th Street and ended at 3860 13th Ave. S., or roughly two dozen blocks away, after the Altima hit a couple of small trees and ended up in some soft dirt in a yard, Kajtsa said.

Investigators recovered two guns – one in and one outside the Altima – along with the first victim's wallet and cell phone, Kajtsa said.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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