Suspect in Tampa Howard Johnson Armed Robbery Arrested In Valrico

The parade of law enforcement vehicles barreling down Brandon Boulevard this morning led to a house in Brentwood Hills and the arrest of a man facing charges stemming from an earlier armed robbery in Tampa.

Efrain Vizcaya-Cartagena, 39, of 717 Sand Ridge Drive in Valrico, was charged with

According to Tampa police, Vizcaya-Cartagena and an unidentified black male robbed a man at Howard Johnson's Motel, 720 E. Fowler Ave., on  June 15.

The incident started at 9:27 p.m. when, police said, Vizcaya-Cartagena and an accomplice forced their victim into his hotel room at gunpoint. The pair then took the victim’s cash, cell phone and knives from a safe and fled in a Hyundai Elantra.

Armed with a description of Vizcaya-Cartagena, Tampa detectives discovered he was at an Advance Auto Store on Fowler Avenue prior to the robbery, according to the report.

Using a law enforcement database, detectives found a Hyundai Elantra that had been stopped by Hillsborough County deputies on June 14. A photo of the driver of the Elantra was shown to the robbery victim, who identified Vizcaya-Cartagena as one of the suspects. 

Tampa police tracked Vizcaya-Cartagena to an address in Valrico, where Vizcaya-Cartagena had barricaded himself in the home.

“They (Tampa police) were there first and we were there helping them,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Debbie Carter earlier in the day. “The individual was talked out [of the home] and taken into custody.”  

After he was taken into custody, Vizcaya-Cartagena admitted he was at the hotel at the time of the robbery but denied committing the offense. 

The search for the second suspect was continuing.