Facebook Leads Detectives To Armed Robbery Suspect

A scan of a couple of Facebook accounts help led Sarasota County Sheriff's detectives to a Hibiscus Inn armed robbery suspect already in jail, revealing a connection to a line of crimes in Sarasota.

Detectives charged Raheem "Bubba" Maxwell, 21 of 2309 Leon Ave., Sarasota, on Wednesday for robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Maxwell was already in Sarasota County Jail for facing aggravated assault and weapons charges stemming from the Dec. 8, 2011, drive-by shooting. Just a few days after that, he was . Sarasota Police Department filed charges and arrested Maxwell for that shooting on Monday.

For the  , it started with a chance encounter at the Sarasota County Jail where the victim, John Eilermann, was depositing money into an inmate's commissary account, according to the sheriff's office.

 in October 2011 for prescription drug fraud. Kough was a practical nurse at the Suncoast Pain Management clinic and is currently in jail.

At the jail, the victim met Lea Simone Canty and Chasity Edwards and agreed to meet up at the Hibiscus Inn on July 13. At about 11 p.m., Edwards and Canty told the victim they were going to the store to get cigarettes, and the victim then waited outside the hotel for the two.

At that time, detectives believe Maxwell rolled up in a red Ford Mustang convertible, pulling out a small revolver and demanding Eilermann's money. The wallet had contained $2,000, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Before the sheriff's office pulled over the Mustang on Grove Street, a witness saw Maxwell flee the Mustang and run through her backyard, according to the affidavit. Edwards and Canty were arrested that night and charged for being an accomplice to the crime.

Detectives say neither woman cooperated with naming the suspect, so detectives searched their Facebook accounts and noticed a common friend, listed as Bubba Maxwell, according to the affidavit. After a database search, the detective found that Maxwell was listed in the system and was already in jail for the drive-by shooting charges presented by the Sarasota Police Department.

Those charges include possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, discharging a weapon within city limits and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, for a Dec. 8, 2011, drive-by shooting, according to the Sarasota Police probable cause affidavit.

According to that affidavit, Maxwell was in the rear passenger seat of a gold Kia SUV and stopped in front of a house on the 1400 block of 19th Street and fired two shots toward the home where Rashad Steen stood, telling the victim that that someone was following him.

 in a Dec. 11 Newtown triple-shooting that wounded Maxwell. Two other suspects —  of Ellenton and also face charges in that shooting.

Maxwell is set to appear in court on Aug. 24.