Helicopter Tracks Brandon Man Who Pulled Gun On Woman: Sheriff

VALRICO, FL — A 21-year-old man has been charged with armed burglary after pointing a gun at an employee of the Chili's Bar & Grill in Valrico, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office.

Valentin Cooper Malin, of Brandon, approached a bar employee as she was getting into her car Monday night and demanded that she tell him where he could find another employee, a sheriff's report said. The woman closed her car door and locked it.

The sheriff's office said Malin tried to open it and demanded that she tell him where he could find the other employee. When she refused, he pulled a gun.

Malin fled when the sheriff's office was called. but the department's helicopter soon found him walking down Bloomingdale Avenue. With the camera rolling in the helicopter, several sheriff's vehicles converged and arrested Valentin, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies learned that earlier in the day Valentin sent threatening text messages to the employee he was searching for, insinuating that he was going to shoot the employee. He included photos of the gun, a sheriff's report said.

Malin has been charged with armed burglary of a conveyance with assault or battery and is being held at the Hillsborough County Jail on $25,000 bail, the sheriff's office said.