ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Tips from the public helped detectives find a man accused of robbing an auto parts store in Orange Park at gunpoint Sunday morning, the Clay County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday.
Rickey Carlton Barker Jr., 35, was arrested Wednesday in Jacksonville with help from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, deputies said. He was found by a multi-county team of detectives after surveillance photos deputies released generated tips from the public.
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“If we had not got the videotape we had in this particular case, it may have been some time before we were able to identify this guy,” Capt. Jim Morgan said. “It certainly helped us be able to get his image out there, which started leads coming to us and tips coming to us to identify him rather quickly in my opinion.”
The Advance Discount Auto Parts on Blanding Boulevard in Orange Park was robbed about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, deputies said.
Surveillance video from inside the store showed a man as he held two employees and two customers at gunpoint, demanding money from the registers and the safe, deputies said.
He ran from the store with a bag containing an undisclosed amount of cash before getting into a car parked nearby, deputies said.
No injuries were reported.
Days later, a similar robbery took place at an Advance Discount Auto Parts store off U.S. 1 South in St. Johns County.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, a man was dropped off by a white SUV at the store about 9 a.m. before he went inside and demanded money from a clerk.
Deputies said the man then stole car keys from a customer at gunpoint and left in a white Chrysler Town and Country van. The elderly woman's family said the man hit her over the head, and she was hospitalized for several hours.
Deputies found the woman's white van abandoned less than a block away in an Enterprise Rent-a-Car lot on U.S. 1 South.
St. Johns County detectives said Barker is being considered as a person of interest in the robbery in their county.
“Right now we can't say for sure it is the same person, but there's a good indication it is him,” Morgan said. “Because of what occurred in St. Johns County and the likelihood it probably could be the same individual, we thought it was imperative we get on this right away.”
Morgan said a tip generated by news report from Sunday's robbery helped detectives narrow down a photo lineup that pinpointed Barker as the suspect and led to an arrest warrant.
Barker's arrest warrant was a "no bond" warrant and he will be booked into the Clay County Jail on Wednesday. He will appear in court Thursday for first appearance.
"We appreciate the community's help on this case and the partnership with the two other agencies involved," the Clay County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post announcing the arrest.
Clay County also released a booking photo of Barker from his only previous arrest in Clay County, a 2015 writ of attachment arrest.
Anyone with information about the St. Johns County armed robbery is asked to call Detective S. English with SJCSO at 904-209-3986 or email senglish@sjso.org. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS.