DELTONA, Fla. – A Deltona man arrested Thursday night is accused of robbing two people at gunpoint over the weekend, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives since Sunday had been looking to connect the two robberies, which were reported within about 100 feet of each other on Aug. 18 and 20, respectively, near the intersection of Elkcam and Providence boulevards. The victims in both cases told deputies that a man wearing black clothing had held them up with a rifle, with one of them reporting the suspect wore a “Scream” mask while robbing them.
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An investigation began Aug. 18 after the first incident, and a K-9 unit tracked the suspect to an area along East Chapel Drive after both robberies. On body-worn camera video of the tracking process Sunday, sheriff’s office personnel can be heard talking about footprints going back and forth in a nearby green space, at one point commenting, “last night, same thing.”
The sheriff’s office canvassed the neighborhood and began surveillance on Andre Parker, a news release states. Parker wasn’t originally a person of interest, but as detectives continued watching him, they reported seeing him put on blue latex gloves while going to work at McDonald’s. The same gloves allegedly showed up on surveillance video of the second robbery, deputies said.
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Deputies said they made multiple attempts to speak with Parker and left a Crime Stoppers flyer on his door before ultimately pulling four of his trash bags from the curb to search through on Thursday. Inside, detectives reportedly found a “Scream” mask, a wallet containing ID cards of the first victim, blue latex gloves and other articles of clothing that both victims said their robber was wearing.
A search warrant was secured for Parker’s home, where deputies said a backpack containing a .22 HK rifle was located, as well as ammunition.
Parker allegedly confessed to committing the robberies alone after denying any knowledge of them. He faces two counts of armed robbery and has been given a bond amount of $60,000, according to the sheriff’s office.
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