Valentine's Day robbery suspect arrested

Columbia County Sheriff's Office booking photo of Travis Pound

LAKE CITY, Fla. – A man Columbia County deputies believe took merchandise a Shell station convenience store early Friday morning then beat the clerk was tracked to nearby hotel room and arrested.

Deputies were called to a robbery in progress at the gas station on U.S. 90 West. When they arrived, the clerk said a man distracted him by saying the there was a snake in the bathroom. When the clerk returned from checking it out, he found the suspect taking items from behind the counter. Deputies say the man battered the clerk before running out of the store with a bag of stolen items.

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Columbia County Sheriff's Office booking photo of Travis Pound

A deputy and a K9 named Zombie began to track the suspect, with a trail leading to the Americas Best Value Inn near the Interstate 75 exit. The desk clerk said a man matching the description of the robber entered room 110. 

Deputies said they found 24-year-old Travis Pound (pictured) inside the room and he was taken into custody without incident.

Pound, of Jasper, was booked into the Columbia County Jail on charges of robbery and petty theft and held on $21,000 bond.

According to the Sheriff's Office the stolen property was recovered.