ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The St. Johns Sheriff's Office is looking for a man and a woman on attempted murder charges in connection with an attempted home invasion in Flagler Estates neighborhood of St. Johns County Thursday morning.
Deputies said 22-year-old Andrew Cherry should be considered armed and dangerous. He is accused of firing off two gunshots at a homeowner on Isom Avenue before he got away with his companion, Lee Ann Renee Mosher, 24.
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The Sheriff's Office said the couple may have two children with them.
Sheriff David Shoar told reporters Thursday night his deputies received four good tips from the public after detectives released information on the home invasion to the media. Those tips led deputies to identify Cherry as a suspect.
The sheriff said as deputies approached Cherry's home near Juanita Avenue and Masters Drive in St. Augustine Thursday night, they saw him. It's believed that as deputies were establishing a perimeter around the home, he was able to get away.
Making the search more urgent, Shoar said deputies saw two girls in the home with Cherry. Those children are no longer there.
"The suspect called his sister earlier, and asked her to come get the children. He said he would hand them over the fence to her,"Shoar said. "She never did. She called us instead and when we tried to call him back, he didn't answer the telephone. That's kind of reassuring to me, because he's trying to protect his children. That's always a good sign."
Investigators believe Mosher is the mother of the children. Information provided Thursday night said there were three children, but Friday morning the Sheriff's Office said there were only two.
Shoar said Cherry has past arrests for burglaries. He's now facing attempted murder charges in connection with Thursday morning's attempted home invasion.
In that incident, the Sheriff's Office said Mosher knocked on the door of a home in the 10,000 block of Isom Avenue. The 55-year-old homeowner was awakened by the knock on the door. The victim saw a woman, now identified by the Sheriff's Office as Mosher, asking for help in getting her vehicle out of a ditch.
When the victim walked out he saw a man, now identified by the Sheriff's Office as Cherry, wearing a mask and pointing a gun. The victim ran back inside the home as deputies say Cherry fired two shots at him. The suspects then ran from the residence and possibly fled in a silver colored Ford Mustang with a black convertible top with front end and rear bumper damage.
Anyone with any information concerning the whereabouts of Cherry or Mosher is asked to contact Detective David Blanton at the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office at (904) 209-2193. You can also remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a cash reward by calling Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 888-277-TIPS.