CitrusCountyNetwork.com

Friday, October 17, 2008

CRYSTAL RIVER ROBBERY SUSPECT APPREHENDED IN GAINESVILLE

Around 9 p.m. on Thursday, Gainesville Police Department officers made a traffic stop on a subject who turned out to be the primary suspect in Tuesday’s robbery of the Mercantile Bank in Crystal River.

Shannon Lee Shepardson, 36, was taken into custody without incident on an active Citrus County warrant for robbery.  Because Shepardson wore a mask during the commission of the crime, the charge of robbery where offender carried no weapon will be enhanced to a first-degree felony.

The bond on the warrant was set at $10,000.  If Shepardson fails to bond out, he’ll be transported to the Citrus County Detention Facility for incarceration.

The defendant’s 1991 Plymouth Voyager, which was used in the commission of the robbery, has been secured by GPD officials.  The Sheriff’s Office will
have it brought back to Citrus County for processing.

I was unable to attend the Political forum held at the Armory in Crystal River. I was hoping to go and report back to everyone what the different candidates said. If any of my readers was able to attend, please click on the comments above and let us know what was said.

Thank you,

(Crystal River) Citrus County Sheriff’s Office detectives have released
the name and photo of their primary suspect in this afternoon’s robbery of the Mercantile Bank.

Witnesses have positively identified him as the man who entered both the bank and the ABC Fine Wine & Spirits store on S.E. U.S. Highway 19.

He is Shannon Lee Shepardson, 36, of 8300 W. Rainbow Oaks Court in Crystal River. The 1991 Plymouth

Shannon Lee Shepardson

Voyager he’s driving has a Florida tag 189KGQ.

Anyone with information about Shepardson’s crime or his whereabouts is asked to call 911 or (352) 726-1121 as soon as possible.

(Crystal River) Just before 3:30 p.m. today, a lone white male entered the
front door of the Mercantile Bank at 1000 S.E. U.S. Highway 19. At the time, five bank employees were in the building, but no customers were there.

With some kind of cloth covering his face, the suspect approached one of the tellers and demanded cash. Although he alluded to having a weapon, none was ever displayed.

The masked man was given an undisclosed amount of money. He exited the front door of the bank and ran around to the back of the building.

A bank employee followed him in an attempt to get a visual on his direction of travel or a vehicle description. He was seen jumping into a 1991 Plymouth Voyager station wagon/van. It was described as being two-tone, either blue or gray.

Minutes before the suspect entered the bank, he went into the ABC Fine Wine & Spirits store at 822 S.E. U.S. Highway 19. His behavior was strange enough that workers there took note of his tag number and passed it along to Citrus County deputies. Since he wasn’t masked at the time, the store’s surveillance video captured a strong image of the suspect.

Information provided by good witnesses at both the store and bank enabled deputies to identify a very viable person of interest in the case.

Citrus deputies are attempting to locate the man at this time.

Wesley Erven, 44

The Brannen Bank located at 6901 W. Gulf to Lake Highway Crystal River was robbed today around 2pm today. The masked Robber approached one of three bank employees and demanded money. He did not show any weapons or even threatened that he had one.

The suspect then left the bank on foot. A sherrif’s deputy who happened to be in the area at the time the call came in saw him heading behind the bank and alerted k-9 units to the direction he was headed.

The dogs quickly picked up his sent and found discarded articles of clothing that the suspect was wearing along with his mask. They then found Wesley Erven, 44, by a pond behind James White Plumbing, located at 6833 W. Rich Street. Erven identified himself and said he was currently staying with friends in Citrus Springs.

Erven faces a charge of robbery, which will carry stiffer penalties because the defendant wore a mask during the commission of a crime.

All of the stolen cash has been recovered.