Deputies: Hammer-wielding robber caught

Nassau County Sheriff's Office booking photo of Charles Edwin Smith II

YULEE, Fla. – A man accused of wielding a hammer to rob a Kangaroo Food Store in Callahan this week has been caught, according to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office.

Just after 2 a.m. Wednesday, a man armed with a hammer robbed the Kangaroo on U.S. 1 (Ratliff Road) in Callahan, making off with $75 in cash and five packs of cigarettes. He fled in an early model blue/gray Ford F-Series pickup truck.

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Deputies said investigation into the robbery pointed to Charles Edwin Smith II as the suspect. Smith has a felony criminal history, including charges of escape, sex crimes and financial crimes, and has served time in prison. NCSO had an active warrant for Smith for failure to comply with sexual offender requirements.

The U.S. Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force helped track down Smith in Jacksonville on Friday and took him to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office to be interviewed.

Deputies said Smith confessed to the robbery and was arrested and charged with armed robbery and the failure to comply warrant.