JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A multi-county search is on for a 41-year-old man wanted in connection with two armed robberies, kidnappings and a sexual assault over the last 48 hours in the Jacksonville area.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in finding Brian Fogerty, an ex-convict who is on supervised release and who police said should be considered armed and dangerous.
JSO Director Tom Hackney said Fogerty was last spotted on the Westside near Commonwealth and Edgewood avenues, where he tried to get a cab about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. He did not have money and the driver refused to take him, Hackney said.
UNCUT: JSO Director Tom Hackney gives update on search for 'armed, dangerous' man
"The desperate nature of what he's doing is extremely concerning," Hackney said.
Police said they believe Fogerty currently has a noticeable, bright red, disfigured swollen nose because of an infection that is spreading up toward his eyes, Hackney said. Fogerty's left eye is swollen shut and his right eye is nearly as bad, Hackney said.
Hackney said Fogerty drove a stolen car from Clay County to the Jacksonville Beach area on Sunday, sexually assaulted a woman at knife-point in a small business, forced the victim into her car, drove her to her home, kidnapped the woman's husband and two infant children and drove them to ATMs in Duval County to try to withdraw money from their accounts.
Fogerty, whose birthday was Sunday, abandoned the car in the Springfield area and fled on foot, Hackney said.
Hackney said about 7 p.m. Monday Fogerty forced his way into a Westside home, threatened a woman with a knife and robbed her of jewelry and cash. According to the police report, he dragged the victim by the hair and tied her hands and feet with an extension cord, then put her into her red 2012 Toyota 4Runner and took off.
He also drove her to an ATM trying to get cash, Hackney said, before dropping her in area of County Road 217 in the Middleburg area, near where he used to live.
Police said the SUV that Fogerty stole from the second victim was recovered Tuesday morning in the area of West Beaver Street and North Edgewood Avenue.
The Sheriff's Office said it is coordinating with multiple agencies to find Fogerty.
"I need people to be scared. I need people to be aware of this guy," Hackney said. "He is desperate. His acts are desperate."
Hackney said it's particularly alarming that his victims appear to have been chosen at random.
Hackney said the U.S. Marshals service has been called in to help in the manhunt.
"We are pulling out all the stops when it comes to finding this guy," Hackney said.
He said one of the victims told police that it appeared the growth on Fogerty's nose had been lanced, so it's possible he might seek medical attention for the infection.
"He's a bad dude. He's got a bad history of violence, and it's showing today," Hackney said. "I wouldn't put anything past this guy. I wouldn't put anything action-wise beyond what he could be potentially able to do."
Fogerty got out of prison in May on a 2008 conviction for armed robbery in Marion County. He has a long criminal record dating back to the 1990s, with dozens of arrests in Bradford, Clay, Duval, Marion and Seminole counties.
Fogerty was wearing an ankle monitor after his May release, but cut off the monitor on July 4 and has been "in the wind since," Hackney said.
If you see Fogerty, call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS, or police at 904-630-0500.