Two men were arrested Monday after an armed bandit and his accomplice held up the Lucky Panda Internet Café in Summerfield.
Joseph Anthony Crenshaw, 34, and Dennis Wayne Waters, 32, were taken into custody about seven hours after the holdup was reported. Both were charged with robbery with a firearm, with Crenshaw facing a second count of possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon.
According to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office report, Waters came to the door of the business around 3:30 a.m. and rang the buzzer for entry. According to witnesses and video surveillance, he stalled at the doorway until Crenshaw came from behind him and entered the internet café. He then fled to the east behind the business, located at 14335 S Hwy. 27/441 Unit 104, the report says.
Crenshaw, who was identified as wearing a mask and armed with a pistol, demanded that an employee give him “the box,” he report says. The employee handed him the money from the cash register and Crenshaw also fled east behind the building, the report says.
Witnesses said Crenshaw was wearing a gray wolf mask, a blue dress shirt, dark pants, camouflage gloves and black-and-white shoes and. They also said he brandished a black-and-gray semi-automatic pistol during the robbery.
Waters was described as wearing a red-and-black baseball cap, a red plaid shirt, blue jeans, a bandana and dark boots. He was identifiable through the business’s video surveillance footage, the report says.
While searching the area for the two men, deputies found discarded items of clothing that were worn during the robbery.
A few hours later, deputies spotted a white 2003 Ford Sport Trac traveling south on SE 87th Terrace Road near Sunset Harbor Road. Deputies stopped the vehicle and talked with the driver, Timothy Staine. Front-seat passenger Donna Moyer and Crenshaw and Waters also were in the truck. Deputies noted that the robbery suspects “were sweaty.”
Deputies ordered the occupants to get out of the truck, and as they were doing so, a black-and-silver .380-calber Hi-Point pistol fell to the ground from the passenger side door, the report says, adding that the gun matched the description of the one used in the robbery.
Staine told deputies that he was dropping Moyer off at her house in Summerfield when Crenshaw and Waters asked for a ride to a house off Sunset Harbor Road. Moya told deputies that both men were very sweaty and as they pulled away. She said Waters asked them to go back so he could get his gun, the report says, adding that as they were being stopped by deputies, Waters “reassured everyone in the vehicle that everything was fine.”
A search of the truck turned up a black bag containing about $2,300, as well as articles of clothing Waters wore during the robbery and a Visa debit card in his name.
Crenshaw refused to speak with deputies. A search of his criminal history showed him to be a two-time convicted felon, with the most recent being April 4, 2013 for a grand theft charge in Putnam County.
Waters initially declined to speak with deputies but then told them that he is a security guard at the internet café. He said he wasn’t working when the robbery happened, as he was riding his bike in a nearby neighborhood. He couldn’t provide specific details about where he was riding, but he denied being at the business when the robbery took place.
Both Crenshaw and Waters were transported to the Marion County Jail. Crenshaw is being on $60,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in a Marion County courtroom July 10 at 9 a.m. Waters is being held on $50,000 bond and also is due in court July 10 at 9 a.m.