According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, a Florida man claimed to be “hearing voices” telling him to rob a Dollar General store twice in two days.
In connection with a business robbery, deputies were summoned to the Dollar General on West Highway 26 in Ocala on Sunday.
An employee said in the affidavit that a man stole money from the register and made off on foot.
According to the police report, deputies noticed a man who fit the suspect’s description strolling along Highway 326 as they were en route to the store.
Though deputies made an effort to stop him, the suspect eventually got away.
According to police, during the course of the inquiry, the worker identified the perpetrator as 31-year-old Matthew Pringle right away and claimed that he was the same person who had robbed him two years prior.
Records state that Pringle swiped money from a self-check-out register, seized the employee’s arm, and then fled on foot.
According to the affidavit, Pringle went back to the Dollar General store the very following day and was recognised by a worker from the robbery that was allegedly committed the day before. Nevertheless, the worker stated Pringle allegedly attacked him, grabbed the phone out of his hand, and threw him to the ground as he attempted to dial 911.
After allegedly stealing an unspecified quantity of cash from the register, Pringle reportedly ran away on foot, but deputies were able to find him and apprehend him around a quarter-mile away.
In the report, it was stated that Pringle admitted to the police that he was “hearing voices that were directing him to conduct the robberies.”
Pringle was taken into custody and charged with two charges of robbery, resisting an officer without using force, and obstructing, postponing, or inhibiting communication with a law enforcement official over an ongoing criminal activity, according to the arrest records.
According to arrest documents, he is still being held at the Marion County Jail with a $54,000 bond.
