JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Two men accused of zip tying a woman's hands behind her back and robbing a gun and pawn shop in the Lakeshore area last month have now been arrested, thanks to two tips made to First Coast Crime Stoppers, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said Thursday.
Williams announced the arrests of Antoine Spight Jr. and Brandon Nicholson, a result of coordinated investigation efforts among the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
On Monday, Nov. 16, the sole employee working at Treasure Chest Jewelry Pawn and Gun on Cassat Avenue called 911 with her hands still zip tied behind her back to report the armed robbery.
Surveillance footage shows two men police say entered the business posing as customers shopping for engagement rings. As the worker helped them, one of the men pointed a handgun at her while the other man zip tied her hands behind her back, Williams said.
The men ordered the woman to hand over the key to the gun cabinets and forced her into a bathroom, Williams said. He said video footage from inside the store reveals the two men spent about eight minutes inside the business, stealing 40 handguns and more than $100,000 in jewelry and cash.
The suspects fled the scene in the employee's vehicle, Williams said. The vehicle was recovered a short time later, abandoned at a nearby apartment complex.
JSO used its social media channels to ask for help identifying the suspects from the surveillance video. Four days later, on Friday, Nov. 20, Williams said JSO received a tip from First Coast Crime Stoppers about the identity of one of the suspects.
"Our detectives confirmed the validity of that tip through some incredible investigative work and an arrest warrant was issued for Antoine Spight Jr.," Williams said.
JSO worked in collaboration with DEA to determine that Spight had plans to travel to New York to sell the guns, Williams said. JSO, DEA and ATF agents arrested Spight outside Atlanta just hours after the tip was received.
"So ultimately a search warrant was executed on Spight's mother’s residence in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and in that search warrant, we found 26 of the 40 stolen handguns," Williams said.
Two days later, on Sunday, Nov. 22, JSO received a second tip about the identity of the other suspect. Police issued a warrant for Nicholson.
With help from the U.S. Marshals Task Force, JSO found Nicholson Wednesday, Nov. 25, at the Red Roof Inn on the Westside. JSO arrested Nicholson after a standoff, and police found the handgun they say Nicholson used during the robbery, along with some of the stolen jewelry.
Williams said both Spight and Nicholson could be categorized as "career criminals."
"Spight I believe had just been released from federal prison," he said. "And so they both have criminal histories and have been at this quite a while."
JSO is still searching for 16 stolen guns from the robbery, along with two possible other suspects. Williams said they believe two unknown suspects served as either lookouts or getaway drivers. Anyone with information about the identity of those two suspects is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.
"This case not only highlights the great investigative efforts by our federal and local law enforcement partnerships, but it also reminds us of the valuable asset that First Coast Crime Stoppers is to our community," Williams said. "And obviously the critical piece that our community plays in crimes like this, where without their information, we would not be able to solve these crimes., absolutely would not be able to solve them so quickly."
Williams urged the public to be responsible with their guns and keep them locked up and out of unlocked vehicles.
"This is a unique case where these individuals are clearly professionals and career criminals. And they’re profiting en masse off of stolen handguns," Williams said. "The challenge we see locally with stolen handguns is still out of unlocked vehicles. We’re approaching 600 for the year. And many of those will remain in our community, as crime guns in this community, not necessarily transported out of state. So again we would like to take this opportunity to remind people to be responsible gun owners and keep those firearms locked up."
Williams also encouraged people to reach out to Crime Stoppers if they know someone who is carrying a gun illegally, whether a stolen weapon or a weapon being carried by a convicted felon. JSO's gun bounty program has received more than 30 tips since it was reinstated, Williams said, paying out a $1,000 reward for anyone who makes the anonymous report.
