Arrest Made in Armed Carjacking, Hit-And-Run

An 18-year-old Tampa man is behind bars after St. Petersburg Police say they connected him to a hit-and-run crash and armed carjacking that occurred earlier in the month.

According to police, Alonzo Brown of East Missouri Street in Tampa was brought into custody on Friday after he was spotted by an officer in the area of 9th Avenue South and 15th Street.

The incident that led to Brown’s arrest began to unfold around 12:18 p.m. Sept. 4 when a silver Toyota Camry, traveling at a high rate of speed struck a vehicle that was exiting onto 4th at 110th Avenue North, the police department wrote in an email to media. The male driver of the Camry got out of the car, police say, and tried to flee the area by scaling a nearby fence.

The suspect, however, was unable to make it over the fence.

A passing motorist happened to see him and noticed he was bleeding from the head. The motorist, the email said, asked the suspect if he needed help.

At that point, police say the injured driver displayed a gun in his waistband and demanded a ride. The man who offered to help was forced to take the suspect to the area of the Bel-Air Apartments, 1200 102nd Ave. N., where the suspect jumped out of the car and fled into the apartment complex.

Shaken, but unhurt, the motorist called police, the email said. The call kicked off an extensive search for the man in the apartment complex, but he managed to get away.

Brown now faces armed carjacking, leaving the scene of an accident with serious injuries and driving on a suspended license charges. Brown was being held in the Pinellas County Jail Monday in lieu of $210,000 bond.

As for the car accident victim, police say the 20-year-old man is expected to recover.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Jail