Victim Takes Gun from Robber in Publix Parking Lot

The victim was reportedly walking in the parking lot, 5391 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, around 9:30 p.m. when a man in a pickup truck pulled up to him and asked him for change for $10. The victim pulled out his wallet, then looked up to find a handgun pointed at him, a report states. The man then ordered him to get inside the vehicle, a report said.

While inside the cab of the pickup, the victim grabbed the handgun and after a struggle fell outside the vehicle still holding the gun, a report states.

The suspect fled, driving over a median in the parking lot and blowing out his right tire in the process, the report said.

Down the road, a deputy pulled the pickup over east of I-75 for driving on the flat. He then realized he likely had the robbery suspect after he heard the report of the Publix incident over the radio.

The suspect was apprehended by deputies and the victim was able to identify the suspect; he was taken to Sarasota County Jail. 

Deputies later learned that the gun used during the robbery, and another found in the cab of the truck, were pellet guns.