STARKE, Fla. – A man accused of robbing three dollar stores in four days was arrested after a brief police chase Wednesday in Clay County.
According to the Clay County Sheriff's Office, William Carlson III, 37, of Keystone Heights, robbed the Family Dollar store located at 7380 State Road 100S on Sunday night, holding store employees at knifepoint. Carlson managed to get away with $300 in cash, deputies said.
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Tuesday night, a man with a knife matching the same description robbed the Dollar General Store on North Temple Avenue in Starke. Police said the robber ordered an employee carrying a cash drawer to the manager's office to "Give it," then drove away in a silver Ford Taurus.
Just after 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, Clay County deputies say Carlson entered the Dollar General store at 1120 Blanding Blvd. in Middleburg and forced the manager at knifepoint to go in the building and take money from the cash registers, according to the report. Deputies said he then told the manager to open the store's safe, but she was able to get away from him.
Deputies said Carlson's vehicle was spotted on by a Sheriff's Office employee monitoring of Florida Department of Transportation cameras posted along Blanding Boulevard. After a short chase, Carlson lost control of his car and crashed into a ditch bordering a shopping center at 2720 Blanding Blvd., deputies said.
Carlson tried to run, but was taken down by deputies, according to the report. He was treated and released at Orange Park Medical Center, then booked into the Clay County Jail on charges of armed robbery and aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer.
"The FDOT cameras were installed in our communications center just this year and have already proven to be a very valuable tool for solving crime in Clay County," said Mary Justino, spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office.