Mexican store robbed in Fanning Springs

By Carrie A. Mizell

The robbery of a Mexican store in Fanning Springs on Saturday marked the third time in three months that a local Mexican store has been robbed in the middle of the day, the store clerks tied up, and three Hispanic male suspects fleeing the scene.
Only this time, the Levy County Sheriff’s Office busted one of the alleged robbers. According to Major Evan Sullivan of the Levy County Sheriff’s Office, Norbin Dejuses Medina, 35, of West Palm Beach was arrested wile trying to flee the Stone’s BP parking lot on Saturday and charged with two counts of Armed Robbery.

Medina’s partners in the Tienda Mexican Store robbery fled the scene despite three hours of tracking by three of the Levy County Sheriff’s Office K-9’s.
According to Major Sullivan, the Levy County Sheriff’s Office received a robbery alarm at Tienda Mexican Store in Fanning Springs on Saturday morning. The victim told 911 dispatchers at the Communication Center that three suspects had left the store in a white Ford Explorer. Before deputies could arrive at the store, the vehicle was spotted in the parking lot of Stone’s BP gas station on US 19 south of Fanning Springs.
Two suspects were seen entering the store and a third suspect was getting out of the Explorer when deputies pulled into the parking lot. One of the suspects, Norbin Dejuses Medina, was taken into custody immediately while the other two suspects fled on foot through a heavily wooded area.
Despite an extensive search, the two other suspects were able to elude deputies.
The investigation revealed that the suspects had entered the Tienda Mexican Store in Fanning Springs just before 10 a.m. on Saturday. All three men acted like they were going to make purchases and while at the cash register demanded money armed with a gun. The store clerk and a male customer were pistol-whipped and the male customer was tied up. The suspects robbed the clerk and the customer of an undisclosed amount of money before fleeing the store in a white Ford Explorer.
Later in the day a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier with a Florida tag 713-WTZ was stolen from Discount Liquor in Chiefland. The victim left the vehicle running and went into the liquor store, only to find the vehicle stolen. At press time, it was believed that the two armed suspects stole the vehicle and may be traveling to south Florida.
According to Major Sullivan, this is the second time the Tienda Mexican Store has been robbed at gunpoint. On October 10, 2010 the store was robbed at gunpoint in a similar fashion. The armed robbers from Saturday’s robbery are believed to have robbed the store in October as well.
A similar armed robbery also occurred in Gilchrist County on Thursday, Nov. 4 when three Hispanic men robbed Mi Gaudalupana, a Mexican store across from Akins Barbecue in the middle of the day. Store clerks were tied up and the store was robbed of an unknown amount of cash. Gilchrist County deputies responded and investigators are currently working the case. Lt. David Aderholt said at press time that investigators are seeing if the crimes are linked to the Gilchrist County robberies.