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Hernando Today

Suspected Bank Robber Chased Into Brooksville

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By KYLE MARTIN

Published: June 19, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - With speeds topping 110 mph, the suspected bank robber and the deputies tailing him covered the eight miles between Interstate 75 and Brooksville in a matter of minutes.

Two helicopters swooped overhead, keeping track of the burgundy Chevy Caprice as it neared the State Road 50 "truck route" juncture. The car kept straight, though, and set a course for downtown Brooksville where police were waiting for him.

After a near head-on collision with a marked police car, stop sticks punctured all four of the driver's tires at the juncture. The car rolled about another 100 yards on its rims, before coming to a smoky halt near Emerson Road, police said.

The suspect clambered out of the car and began to run, but his escape was short lived. County deputies and Brooksville police surrounded the suspect and he was arrested.

Whether Derrick J. Grissom, 25, is the suspected robber of a Floral City bank has yet to be determined, but he has plenty of other charges, including aggravated assault on a police officer, to keep him in the county jail without bail.

Citrus County Sheriff's Office Spokeswoman Gail Tierney said the chase started out like this:

Around 1:20 p.m. Thursday, a man wearing blue jeans and a long-sleeved blue shirt strolled into a Floral City branch of Brannen Bank. A straw cowboy hat was perched on his head. His face was covered by a bandana and oversized glasses.

The heavyset man flashed a handgun at two tellers and demanded cash. With the loot in hand, the robber fled in a burgundy vehicle. Sumter County deputies spotted the vehicle on Interstate 75 and gave chase. A Citrus County chopper kept watch from the sky.

The southbound car took the S.R. 50 exit and headed west into Brooksville. County deputies picked up the chase, which ended in Brooksville.

Tierney didn't have a name of the bank robbery suspect by press time, but it was thought he lived in St. Cloud.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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