Florida man arrested in connection with four-day robbery spree

FLORIDA – A Bradenton man has been arrested for robbing a Tampa store with a firearm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO) has announced.

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest and filing of a criminal complaint charging Devon Floyd, 31, of Bradenton, with one count of Hobbs Act robbery. If convicted, Floyd faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

According to the complaint, on August 10, 2023, Floyd robbed a Family Dollar store on Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa. He asked the clerk for free water, which she did not have, before walking behind the counter and lifting his jacket to show the clerk a firearm.

The complaint alleges Floyd ordered the clerk to empty the register, took approximately $900 in cash, and fled the scene in a dark-colored Mazda.

Floyd was reportedly identified by latent fingerprints left on a box of pens at the Tampa Dollar General.

The complaint further alleges that Floyd is suspected of committing additional robberies and an attempted robbery in the area on August 11-13, including in Riverview, Lakeland, Temple Terrace, North Port, and Gibsonton. The robberies are still being investigated.

This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Tampa Police Department, the Temple Terrace Police Department, the Lakeland Police Department, and the North Port Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Samantha Newman will prosecute it.

A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.