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2 Arrested In East Hillsborough Robbery Spree

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By DAVE NICHOLSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 25, 2008

Updated: 07/25/2008 01:25 pm

PLANT CITY - Two men were arrested and charged in five robberies after a chase that ended when the vehicle they were in crashed at Reynolds Street and Sugar Creek Drive, deputies said.

The suspects, Jose Jesus Belmontes, 20, and Juan Carlos Hernandez-Cortez, 22, were being held today at Orient Road Jail with no bail set.

Deputies say the robbery spree started Sunday night, when a man was held up at gunpoint outside a Circle K in Thonotosassa. One of the robbers fired a shot into the ground, officers said.

There were four more robberies of businesses and individuals in the Plant City and Dover areas, including one instance where a store and one of its customers were robbed, deputies said.

The suspects were arrested late Wednesday after crashing a stolen vehicle near the Sugar Creek subdivision on the east side of Plant City, deputies said. They ran from the crash but were tracked down by deputies and dogs, the officers said.

Both suspects were charged with five counts of robbery, grand theft of a vehicle and obstructing an officer without violence. Belmontes was also charged with discharging a firearm in public, and Hernandez-Cortez was also charged with fleeing and attempting to elude an officer.

No one was injured in the robberies.

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