A 45-year-old Publix employee was pulling in to work at the grocery store on Palm Coast Parkway, off of Belle Terre, at around 2:30 this morning when he noticed a four-door Sedan parked in front of the AT&T store in the same shopping center. He thought it odd, considering the time. So he kept an eye on the car.
He saw three men get out of the vehicle, go toward the storefront, and smash the glass door with what turned out to be a cinder block. The witness called 911. Not long afterward, he saw the three men leave the store carrying items in their arms, then taking off in the vehicle. All he could detect of their clothing was that it was dark.
But it was enough to alert deputies of the vehicle, a black Volkswagen Jetta with Florida tag Y85ISS, driving westbound on Palm Coast Parkway.which deputies spotted driving west on Palm Coast Parkway. “Units attempted to turn around on the vehicle,” the incident report states, “but before catching the vehicle it crashed and the subjects fled the scene.” The crash took place at the intersection of the parkway and the Mobile gas station access road.
Cops established a perimeter and called on Air One, the emergency helicopter, which then circled, “very low for over half hour above the C section area of Clubhouse Drive, Florida Park Drive, Palm Coast Parkway and Palm Harbor Parkway,” according to a witness, as the search continued. It proved fruitless.
The vehicle was registered to an owner in Orlando. Several items in the car looked as if they’d been taken from the store. At the store, deputies found a mess inside, with several items that “appeared to have been grabbed and thrown around,” according to an incident report. At least two smart phones and a tablet were stolen, as was a cash drawer, according to a store manager who reported to the scene. A surveillance video was being reviewed.
The suspects are still at large. Anyone with any information about today’s AT&T burglary is asked to call the FCSO at (386) 313-4911. Or callers may remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 by calling Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 1-888-277-8477.
tim says
what a suprise they got away from the wonderful FCSO!! a elephant could get away from them in a chase. so in the time it took them to flee the store and head EAST on pc pkway the sherrifs office couldnt respond quick enough to even get a description of the suspects.. 2am in the morning with infared cameras and dogs and no trace of a suspect… HMMMM sounds like someone was napping!!!!