Steak 'n Shake Hit Again, Suspect Arrested in Armed Robbery

Brandon can rest easier today with the apprehension of a man wanted in the Steak ‘n Shake robbery June 23 and likely the Hungry Howie’s across the street the night before, according to Larry McKinnon, a spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

It was a busy night for Allan Jerome Stinson, 21, who was pulled from a pond after crashing one-half mile west of U.S. Highway 301.

That’s after he reportedly stole money at gunpoint from the Steak ‘n Shake cashier, fled on foot, then pulled a gun on deputies after they spotted him getting into a 2001 Nissan Sentra nearby.

“They believe he may have fired one round at the deputies, but we’re not certain,” McKinnon said in an interview June 23. “We’re leaving that as unclear right now.”

What isn’t uncertain, McKinnon said, is that the deputies who attempted to conduct a felony stop on Stinson’s vehicle, the air unit and deputies who gave chase, and the deputies who pulled Stinson from the pond risked their safety for good reason.

"It's not been unusual in the past to see subjects like this continue their escalation of crime to the point where somebody gets killed,” McKinnon said.
“So we’re glad to get him off the streets before that happened.”

McKinnon added that this "may be the second time" Stinson has been involved in a robbery at the Brandon Boulevard Steak 'n Shake, as noted as well in a 2011 Brandon Patch report.

• See Arrest Made in Spate of Greater Brandon Robberies

According to McKinnon, Stinson was released from the Florida State prison system in March 2013. His last known address was in Tampa, at 914 East 17th Ave., according to the sheriff’s office report.

“He’s a prolific criminal, violent, extremely dangerous, and we’re glad that we were able to get him off the streets before he seriously injured or killed somebody,” McKinnon said.

The events leading up to Stinson’s arrest reportedly started shortly before 7 a.m. June 23, at the Steak ‘n Shake at 1402 West Brandon Blvd.

According to the sheriff’s office’s report:

• Stinson pulled a fully loaded .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun at the cashier, stole money and fled on foot.

• Spotted getting into a car nearby, deputies prepared to conduct a felony stop, “but Stinson began pointing a fully loaded .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun at them as he drove away.”

• Deputies backed off “to a safe distance” and the pursuit of Stinson continued with the aid of deputies in a sheriff’s office’s helicopter.

• The pursuit lasted for about five to 10 minutes, until Stinson lost control and crashed westbound on State Road 60, about one-half mile west of U.S. Highway 301.

• Stinson’s vehicle flipped over and Stinson “managed to crawl from the wreckage and run into a small pond next to the crash site. Deputies pulled him from the water and he was “arrested without further incident.”

• Criminal charges pending from the June 23 incident “will begin with armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault on law enforcement
  officers and fleeing to elude.” Charges, too, could be forthcoming from the overnight robbery of the Hungry Howie’s at 1511 West Brandon Blvd., for which Stinson is a suspect.