Man Responsible for McDonald’s Armed Robbery on SR100 in Palm Coast Sought in 2nd Incident

The call to 911 came from the Palm Coast McDonald’s on State Road 100, near I-95, at 10:50 p.m. Saturday: a man pulled a long, silver-bladed knife without a handle on an employee, said it was a robbery, and demanded money. The 36-year-old employee complied. The man took more than $349, walked toward the door, turned around, and told the employee: Do yourself a favor and wait five minutes. He then got into a four-door, newer-model red car and fled, making a right onto State Road 100, toward I-95. (An earlier version of this story incorrectly placed the robbery at the Town Center McDonald’s on SR100.)

On Tuesday morning (Feb. 14), the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office released an image and a sketch of the man believed to be the suspect at the McDonald’s robbery. The renditions were released after a man of the same age, build and look carried out a similar robbery, with a silver-bladed knife, at a CVS pharmacy in St. Augustine at 8 p.m. Sunday.

The sheriff’s office is working with St. Augustine police on the cases, believing the man to be one and the same: a white man between 50 and 60, about 6 feet tall, with gray hair and gray mustache, who at the time of the McDonald’s robbery was wearing a tan jacket, possibly a striped shirt, and an olive-green knit hat. He also wore eyeglasses. He wore darker clothes in the CVS robbery, according to the surveillance-camera capture.

Investigators in the St. Augustine incident were able to obtain surveillance footage of the subject involved in that incident. Flagler County then worked with a witness from the McDonald’s robbery and were able to create two composite images of the suspect, one with glasses and one without, according to a release from the sheriff’s office. (See above and below.)

During the McDonald’s robbery, according to an incident report, the employee the suspect was attacking had understandably become fearful and accidentally flubbed the use of the register to comply with his demands. When she told the assailant she could try again, he raised the weapon higher and said, “hurry up!.” She rang up a false otrer and handed over the money in denominations ranging from $1 to $50. The man ordered the woman to open the two other registers. She told him they were locked and contained no money.

The man stuffed the cash in his jacket pocket and fled through the east-side entry door, his hands in his pockets. The manager immediately locked down the restaurant and called 911.

Numerous deputies were dispatched to the scene and its surroundings, checking, among other places, the Hilton Garden Inn , the new Racetrack gas station, Wendy’s, and going north along Old Kings to check various fast food, other restaurants and gas stations there, along with motels near Cracker Barrel.

“This guy is someone we want to get off the street now, and put behind bars before someone gets hurt,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “If you know who he is, give our investigators a call and help us lock him up.”

Anyone with information about these subjects is urged to call Detective Annie Conrad at the Sheriff’s Office at (386) 313-4911, regarding case number 2017-12331. Or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 1-888-277-8477 (TIPS) and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.