Armed Robbers Hit Third Greater Brandon Business in 10 Days

Law enforcement officials believe the same two armed robbers caught on surveillance tape at a Brandon Steak ’n Shake restaurant are responsible for an additional armed robbery and attempted heist in the Greater Brandon area.

All three incidents occurred within 10 days of each other.

The most recent of the three incidents occurred April 7, at , 1513 West Brandon Blvd. That robbery was within a half-mile of the April 2 at the Steak ’n Shake restaurant at 1402 West Brandon Blvd.

The first of the three incidents was March 28, at Liberty Tax Service, 10827 Bloomingdale Ave.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detectives are asking for the public's assistance in identifying the suspects now believed responsible for all three crimes.

According to a sheriff’s report on the Five Guys incident, the pair hid inside an employee’s vehicle, confronting him after he locked up the restaurant for the night. The robbers, after forcing the employee to open the restaurant, took cash from the business.

According to a sheriff’s office report on the April 2 incident, the armed robbers ordered four Steak ’n Shake employees into a storage room before taking money from the registers and the employees just before 7 a.m.  

Dressed head- to-toe in black and armed with a rifle and handgun, the robbers reportedly first struck March 28. On that date, the pair attempted to rob the Liberty Tax Service, 10827 Bloomingdale Ave., according to deputies. 

Leslie Blazer, the office manager at Liberty, was the only one in the office when the robbers came in through the back door at about 8:30 p.m.

“They just kept telling me ‘don’t move, don’t move’ but I had my hands in the air the whole time,” Blazer said in an interview April 12.

The robbers didn’t come up with much — and left with nothing, according to Blazer.

“There was only seven cents in the cash drawer,” she said. "Tax offices generally don’t have much cash on hand."

It’s the first time Blazer has been robbed. “I was OK during the robbery,” she said. “It was after it that the shaking started.”

The suspects have been described as follows:

• Suspect One — Male, 5-foot-7, 180 pounds, between the ages 18 and 21.  Thin build, brown eyes. Was wearing a black ski mask, black leather jacket, black gloves, dark pants and black shoes. He was armed with a handgun.

• Suspect Two —Male, 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, between the ages 22 and 29. Thin build, brown eyes. Was wearing a black ski mask, long-sleeve black shirt, black glove on left hand, black tennis shoes and black jean pants with a white design on the right thigh and right rear-pocket area. He was armed with a bolt-action rifle.

Anyone with information about the identities or whereabouts of the suspects should call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477), report anonymously online atwww.crimestopperstb.com or text "CSTB plus your tip" to C-R-I-M-E-S (274637).