JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An armed robbery and carjacking Tuesday night in East Arlington ended in a police chase and the arrest of a 24-year-old suspect.
Dante Jones is in custody, charged with carjacking and fleeing police. He was arrested after crashing a car police said he stole into a power pole at St. Johns Bluff and Monument roads, leaving thousands without power.
Jones, who is also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, was ordered held without bond Wednesday afternoon.
Detectives are trying to determine of Jones was also responsible for robbing the AT&T store on Monument Road. That armed robbery, which happened about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, brought officers to the area to investigate.
According to police, as investigators searched the Cobblestone Forest neighborhood for the robber, Jones pointed a gun at a 38-year-old family friend, demanding that the man drive past the officers. But the officers noticed Jones hiding in the backseat and tried to pull the car over, police said.
The driver jumped out, Jones took the wheel and several officers chased him down, using a PIT maneuver to stop the car, police said. The maneuver sent the car crashing into a power pole, knocking out electricity for thousands.
Police said Jones had a handgun but threw it out of the sunroof shortly before they caught him.
“I'm glad they got the guy. Hopefully, he will be behind bars for a long time,” neighbor Tim Soder said.
Officers were in the neighborhood already because of the cellphone store robbery.
An employee at the store told police that he was coming back after closing from the Starbucks a couple of doors down when he came in contact with the robber right by the front door. That man said, “Take me inside,” and then he pulled out a black handgun and a duffel bag and said, “Give me everything you've got,” according to police.
The robber asked the employee to put cellphones and cash into the duffel bag and then he ran, police said. The employee was not injured in the robbery.
According to employees, the description of the robber is similar to Jones' description. Detectives are looking to see if he's responsible.
“I think it is crazy. I cannot believe somebody would come here and rob somebody else at gunpoint,” Soder said. “That is insane.”
Police said the carjacking victim is physically OK, but it was discovered that he was wanted, so now he's behind bars, too, for failing to appear on unrelated charges.