ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A man suspected in several St. Petersburg and Tampa armed robberies was taken into custody Wednesday morning.
- Ted Benjamin Grossman, 36, arrested
- 11 businesses robbed from March 15-20
- More Pinellas County stories
Ted Benjamin Grossman, 36, of Tampa, faces charges.
Investigators said Grossman attempted to rob a 7-Eleven location in St. Petersburg early Wednesday, armed with a gun. The clerk, however, refused to give him anything and Grossman fled the scene.
About an hour later, another store was robbed a few blocks away. This time, though, an officer arrested Grossman near the scene.
In a news release, the St. Petersburg Police Department said Grossman is believed to be connected to 11 armed robberies at businesses.
The robberies occurred from March 15 to March 20 at St. Petersurg locations that included PDQ Chicken on 4th Street North and Texaco on MLK Street North, and four Tampa convenience stores.
"He was doing them pretty quickly. Some of them 20-30 minutes from each other. The time he spent in the stores or in the drive-thru was 10-20 seconds, so it all occurred very fast," police said.
Grossman entered the businesses, pointed a gun at the clerks and demanded cash. No shots were fired in any of the cases.
"It's been a while since we've worked on that's been as rapid and ongoing as this one was occurring, and it seemed that this guy was going to continue to do these until he was caught," said St. Petersburg Police Sgt. Kevin Hamilton.
Detectives in both cities worked together during the investigation.
Currently, Grossman has only been charged with two counts of attempted armed robbery in St. Petersburg. Police are calling him a suspect in the other cases, and more charges could be filed as the investigation continues.
Investigators also say it's possible others were involved in the robberies. The investigation is ongoing.