PANAMA CITY — Police have arrested a man they believe committed a string of robberies in Panama City and Lynn Haven.
Panama City Police were tipped off that Rey Xavier Augosto-Zeno, who had been on the run since Friday, was hiding in a wooded area in the 3300 block of Frankford Avenue, officials reported in a Sunday morning news release. U.S. Marshals and PCPD officers assigned to the U.S. Marshals Regional Task Force entered the area and located Augosto-Zeno, who fled, according to the release.
Officers apprehended Augosto-Zeno after a foot chase through the wooded area, and he was taken to the Panama City Police Department for questioning, police reported. The news release did not say when they apprehended him.
Police said they believe Augosto-Zeno attempted to rob the VJ Mart, 2112 Frankford Ave., Thursday at about 7:15 p.m. The suspect had just attempted to snatch money from a register once it was opened and then fled when the attempt was thwarted.
Hours later, a man fiiting the description of the other crimes walked into the Express Lane, 123 W. 23rd St., at about 12:50 a.m. Friday and asked the clerk to make change. When she opened the cash register, the man lunged forward and snatched an undisclosed amount of cash. He then fled on foot toward a bank parking lot next door.
At about 3 a.m., the man again appeared in Lynn Haven at the Tom Thumb, 2301 State 390, where again he reached into the clerk’s register after asking for change, according to Lynn Have Police Chief David Messer. Thirty minutes later, a customer in line at the Redline, 3000 U.S. 98, reached over the counter and snatched an undisclosed amount of cash from the register. A witness told police the man fled the store and hopped in a black, two-door Nissan.
After he was questioned, officials transported Augosto-Zeno to the Bay County Jail and turned him over to deputies on warrants for robbery.