Photo by Eric Hausmann of News Channel 8
A fireworks stand at the intersection of 56th Street and Sligh Avenue was robbed at gun point Friday morning.
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Published: July 4, 2008
TAMPA - Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies are looking for a robber who took the fizzle out of a vendor's firework sales.
A fireworks stand at the intersection of 56th Street and Sligh Avenue was robbed at gun point Friday morning.
Operator Joshua Averill, 31, said he was robbed of about $700 in fireworks at about 2:30 a.m. The stand was closed and Averill said three men entered the tent with one man appearing to have a gun under his shirt.
The stand operator said he was kept in a chair under supposed gunpoint while the men gathered about 40 pounds of fireworks, including 16,000 firecrackers. Averill said enough fireworks were taken for a three to four hour show.
Averill, who has sold fireworks the past three years, said the three men fled in a red compact car after spending 10 minutes in the tent. He described the suspects as three black males in their 20s, wearing white clothing.
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