Man charged in robberies
Stuart Tyler Pratt told deputies that a crack cocaine addiction led him to commit three armed robberies in Okaloosa County early Monday.
He has been charged with those and a fourth armed robbery, this one within the jurisdiction of the Fort Walton Beach Police Department.
Pratt, of 119 N. Kiwi Place, was arrested at about 4 a.m., shortly after he took his crime spree from Okaloosa County into Fort Walton Beach, according to officials from both agencies.
A deputy pulled him over at the Beal Parkway and Mary Esther Cut-off shortly after the Express It Convenience Store at 245 Miracle Strip Parkway was robbed, a Sheriff ’s Office news release said.
Fort Walton Beach officers were well aware that several robberies had taken place just outside the city limits when the Express It was struck at about 3:23 a.m., said Capt. Rose Berry, the head of investigations for the police department.
“They knew other robberies had taken place just prior to that and had a previous description,” she said.
Pratt, 23, used a knife to commit all of his robberies, according to city and county investigators. All four were committed by a person driving a black PT Cruiser, the car Pratt was driving when he was apprehended.
Additionally, a deputy investigating the armed robberies identified Pratt as the suspect captured on video by a security camera at one of the businesses, the Sheriff ’s Office news release said.
The crime binge began, deputies believe, around 2:10 a.m. when a knifewielding man held up the Tom Thumb convenience store at 609 James Lee Blvd. in Fort Walton Beach.
“The clerk says a young white male approached the counter, produced a knife and demanded money,” the release said. “The clerk refused to hand any over and the man ran out.”
The second robbery happened about five minutes later at the Tom Thumb store at 100 Miracle Strip Parkway in Mary Esther, the release said.
“The suspect got away with a small amount of cash,” it said.
The third robbery occurred at 3:15 a.m. at the Denny’s Restaurant at 543 N. Eglin Parkway near Fort Walton Beach, the release said.