Suspected Serial Bank Robber Busted In Sarasota

SARASOTA, FL — A 36-year-old convicted felon from Quincy faces new charges and the potential for even more after Sarasota County deputies say a Wednesday robbery at the Florida Central Credit Union on Cattlemen Road ended with his arrest.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies were called to the 3451 Cattlemen Road bank around 1:45 p.m. May 3. When they arrived, they learned a man had walked into the bank, presented a teller a noted and demanded cash.

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“The teller complied and gave the suspect money from the cash drawer, including a dye pack,” an email from the sheriff’s office said.

As deputies were launching their investigation, 911 calls started coming in from residents along nearby Indianwood Way, just a few blocks from the bank. It seems a suspicious man was seen running through yards in the neighborhood. One man reported seeing “what appeared to be the red dye pack explode in the black male’s pocket,” an arrest report said.

When deputies responded to Indianwood Way, they came across Avery B. Williams. He was “sweating profusely and his hands and clothing were stained with red dye,” the arrest report noted.

The bank’s teller positively identified Williams as the man who presented her the note, the report said. In addition, an Indianwood Way resident also identified Williams as the man he’d seen running through his neighborhood.

Following his arrest, “Williams confessed to robbing the Florida Central Credit Union,” the report added. As for the dye-stained money, deputies say Williams dropped it after the dye pack exploded. He did, however, tell deputies where to recover it, the report said.

Williams also admitted to committing a half dozen other robberies “throughout Alabama, Georgia and surrounding areas in Florida,” the sheriff’s office noted in a media release. He has served prison time in the past for possession of cocaine and robbery convictions.

Sarasota detectives and the FBI are now working together to “identify other locations where Williams has committed robberies,” the agency reported Thursday.

Williams was being held in the Sarasota County Jail May 4 in lieu of $250,000. At present, he faces one count of robbery.

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Booking photo courtesy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office