Leesburg man is accused in armed robbery at Krystal
Leesburg police have arrested a man in the recent gunpoint robbery of a Krystal restaurant and believe he may be involved in other recent robberies of a KFC, 7-Eleven and Family Food Mart that occurred the last two weeks in north Lake County.
Dekeiveous Tadjai Stewart, 24, of Leesburg was charged Tuesday with the Saturday armed robbery of the Krystal at 815 N. 14th St. A .22-caliber revolver found at his Mispah Avenue home near Carver Middle School was “believed to have been used in several other armed robberies,” Leesburg police Lt. Joe Iozzi said Wednesday.
Police said Stewart entered the Krystal at 4:30 p.m., jumped over the counter and brandished a silver pistol at the store manager and clerk, demanding cash from the safe and register, which was empty. “I know you have the codes to the safe,” said Stewart, according to the arrest warrant filed by police. The employees said that when they handed over the cash, he said, “Thank you,” and fled into the woods behind the building.
During the robbery, the T-shirt covering Stewart’s face slipped, allowing the clerk to get a good look at his face, the report said.
Police searched the area with bloodhounds but only found a pile of the clothes the Krystal staff said he wore abandoned in the woods. Their big break was from an anonymous caller, who said Stewart asked others to give him a ride to Walmart at 2501 Citrus Blvd. three hours after the Krystal robbery There, he was caught on video buying a PlayStation 4 and a “large rug,” the report said. When cops showed a photo lineup to the store clerk, he identified Stewart as the man who robbed Krystal. SWAT officers arrested Stewart without incident Tuesday at his residence.
Stewart has been charged previously in Lake County with three counts of burglary, two counts of theft, fleeing and eluding and resisting arrest without violence.
He’s being held at the Lake County Jail on $75,000 bond.