Accused Carjacker Caught by Good Samaritan

BRADENTON, FL — An accused carjacker who thought a 52-year-old Banana Factory employee was a good mark found out otherwise thanks to a patron of the Bradenton bar and grill.

According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Tamara Petroff-Hall arrived at the 6916 14th St. W. establishment around 11:40 a.m. Friday, Dec. 9 to begin working. She parked her vehicle behind the business and was in the process of getting out when she was approached by a man. The man reportedly asked her for a ride and then demanded one, telling her “he was armed with a gun,” an email from the sheriff’s office said.

Believing the man had a gun in his jacket pocket, Petroff-Hall stepped aside as the man drove away from the business and onto 14th Street West. Deputies say Petroff-Hall then went inside the Banana Factory and told a few patrons what happened.

“One of those patrons, Charles A. Miller, exited the business, got into his own vehicle and began pursuing the suspect,” the sheriff’s office said. As Miller chased down the person in Petroff-Hall’s vehicle, he relayed information to deputies, the agency noted.

Realizing he was being chased, deputies say the carjacking suspect, struck several vehicles while attempting to get away. He ended up bailing out of Petroff-Hall’s vehicle in the 2600 block of Bay Drive.

“Miller was able to temporarily detain the suspect until law enforcement arrived,” the sheriff’s office noted.

Nicholas Holloway, 26, now faces carjacking charges. Holloway had not been fully processed into the Manatee County Jail as of Friday afternoon.

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