CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. — Some visitors to “America’s best beach” were targeted by armed robbers who stole all of their personal belongings on back-to-back nights last week, according to Clearwater Police.
- Several Clearwater Beach visitors robbed last week
- Robberies took place on back-to-back nights
- 3 suspects arrested and charged
“Two women and a man. They would display a gun,” Clearwater Police spokesman Rob Shaw said. “Pull up a shirt, show it in a waistband and then basically threatening them with that gun.”
The first incident happened on September 3 at 8:10 p.m., while the visitors were on the Clearwater Beach sand just north of Pier 60. Police said Chamayra Figueroa-Rivera, 18, Jacarra Dukes 20, and Antoine Teagle, 21, told the victims to “run your pockets” as Dukes displayed the gun.
The suspects robbed those victims of their cell phones, cameras, and wallets.
The next night at 9:35 p.m., Dukes and Teagle robbed two more victims who were near the Intracoastal at 61 Papaya Street, according to police. This time they took an Apple watch, cell phone, wallets, and keys.
The victims of the second armed robbery went to a nearby store and called 911. Clearwater Police flooded the area and an alert officer spotted the suspects as they were trying to getaway.
“He noticed they looked a little suspicious. They gave him a weird look because he was in a marked cruiser,” said Shaw. “He also noticed they were all sweaty like they had been running. So, he put two-and-two together and stopped and talked to them and detained them and found out they were in possession of some of the stolen merchandise.”
Detectives caught Figueroa-Rivera on Wednesday and she was arrested on one count of felony robbery with a firearm. Figueroa-Rivera is being held in the Pinellas County Jail on a $150,000 bond.
Dukes and Teagle were charged with two counts of felony robbery with a firearm along with possession of marijuana. Those two defendants are being held on $300,000 bonds.
Visitors said they were shocked that armed robberies happened on the beach that TripAdvisor named America’s number 1 beach this year.
“It’s a beautiful beach,” said Kristie Wilson. “I would not expect anything like that to happen here.”
Shaw said he hopes the quick arrests of the suspects will deter other criminals from targeting the tourist rich area.
“This is not something that we see on Clearwater Beach very often. Clearwater Beach is a very family-friendly safe place to go for whether it’s your regulars or tourists,” he said. “So, we’re just glad we were able to apprehend the people responsible for these crimes.”