Inglis attempted armed robbery suspect flees; arrested at Dunnellon WalmartÂ
Levy County Sheriff's Office
Around 3:15 pm on Sunday afternoon, August 25, 2024, the Levy County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) responded to the Inglis Super Stop food store, located at 19 Highway 19 South in Inglis, Florida, due to an armed robbery.
The store clerk reported that a man entered the store and attempted to purchase drinks and cigarettes; when his payment card was declined, he pulled a handgun and demanded that she open the cash register. The clerk told him "no," then backed away and began screaming that she was being robbed.
The suspect - later identified as 35 year-old Joshua Timothy Comer of Dunnellon, Florida - turned from the checkout area and fired the gun into the ceiling as he exited the store. He left the store in a gold pickup truck, traveling east on Highway 40 East, toward Dunnellon, Florida.
The truck was soon located by officers with the Dunnellon Police Department in the parking lot of the Walmart Supercenter, located at 11012 N. Williams St. in Dunnellon. Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) deputies responded to the location to assist police officers in apprehending Comer as he exited the store with a shopping cart full of stolen merchandise, according to the LCSO. When he was taken into custody, Comer was still armed with the revolver used in the attempted robbery of the Inglis Super Stop.
According to a LCSO press release, earlier in the day, Comer had been working with an acquaintance at an odd job when he asked to borrow the friend’s gold truck to run an errand. The friend loaned Comer the truck, which Comer did not return. The acquaintance found a ride home from work and returned home to find that his back door had been kicked-in and two firearms had been stolen.
From photographs of the handgun seized from Comer by Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Comer's work acquaintance positively identified the gun as his. The gold truck driven by Comer was also registered to his work acquaintance.
According to Marion County Jail records, Comer was booked into the Marion County Jail in Ocala, Florida at 6:58 pm, on Sunday, August 25, 2024, charged with:
(1) extortion or making threats ($10,000 bond)
(2) stalking - sexually cyberharassing another person ($10,000 bond)
(3) resisting or obstructing an officer without violence ($2,500 bond)
(4) possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted Florida felon ($15,000 bond).
(5) criminal mischief with damage to property in the amount of $200 or more but less than $1,000 ($2,500 bond)
(6) battery of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical services provider, etc. ($15,000 bond)
(7) possession of drug equipment ($2,500 bond)
(8) carrying a concealed, unlicensed firearm ($15,000 bond)
A Levy County warrant was issued for Comer on charges of armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and aggravated assault with a firearm. No bond is assigned to this warrant.
"I thank the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Dunnellon Police Department for their assistance and apprehension of this suspect," said Levy County Sheriff Bobby McCallum. "This is an example of the close relationship that we have with these agencies. My deputies and detectives did a wonderful job in developing this case quickly, which led to the apprehension of this suspect.”