Serial Armed Robbery Spree Ends With Arrest

VALRICO, FL — A rash of armed robberies that began early Tuesday morning in south Hillsborough County ended in Tampa early Wednesday morning with the arrest of a 20-year-old man from Valrico.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the last robbery in the spree occurred just after 3 a.m. Feb. 22 when a man armed with a gun walked into the Circle K at 6211 N. Dale Mabry Highway. The man, wearing a black mask, proceeded to hold up the clerk and then took off after getting cash, the sheriff's office said.

After that robbery was reported, the sheriff’s office said an alert went out to deputies. That alert led to the discovery that two of its deputies had pulled over a man on North Dale Mabry around 2:26 a.m. Wednesday.

After speaking with the motorist, the deputies cited him “for speeding and for driving while license suspended without knowledge,” an email from the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies smelled marijuana and did a search of the vehicle, locating a handgun. The individual admitted to owning the unloaded gun and deputies ran a computer search on gun and it was not stolen and was returned to the driver.”

While the deputies confiscated the man’s driver’s license, they left him in the parking lot with instructions to call someone for a ride, the email noted.

It was shortly after that encounter that the Circle K was robbed, the agency noted.

“Based on the alert from the Circle K robbery and information gathered by deputies with the traffic citations, the identity of the suspect was realized,” the sheriff’s office said.

The man, identified as Trevor Gipson, was spotted again around 3:45 a.m., driving a white Nissan Altima, the agency said. When deputies tried to pull over the vehicle, however, Gipson is accused of attempting to flee. Deputies followed him until he stopped along Falling Leaves Drive, the email said.

Gipson now faces charges related to the Feb. 21 robberies of 7-Eleven stores at 1001 McMullen Road and 16781 FishHawk Blvd. He was also charged in connection with the Wednesday Circle K robbery. Charges levied by Hillsborough County include three counts of armed robbery, one count of fleeing to elude and driving on a suspended license. The sheriff’s office said Gipson is also facing charges related to an armed robbery in Temple Terrace.

A booking photo of Gipson was not yet available Wednesday morning.

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