The man who is accused of robbing an internet cafe at gunpoint, abducting an elderly man to use his SUV as a getaway vehicle, striking two police officers -- one on foot and another in his cruiser -- before crashing to a concrete pole, is a 26-year-old man who was released from prison just over three months ago.
Late Thursday, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office named Lawrence Hall III as the man behind Wednesday's violent crime spree. Hill is in critical condition at Memorial Hospital with from injuries he suffered in the crash.
The 84-year-old victim he carjacked and the two officers he struck are also at Memorial Hospital.
After a conviction for burglary and fleeing from police in a U-Haul truck in 2014, Hall pleaded guilty and served four years in prison. He was released Sept. 9.
In Wednesday's violent crime spree, police said a man with a gun in his 20s robbed the Lucky Charms Arcade, an internet cafe on Mayport Road, just after 2 p.m. While the robbery was happening, a person who was watching a live security camera feed of the business called 911, police said.
According to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Director of Investigations Ron Lendvay, the suspect locked a patron in a restroom and had a clerk empty cash from different areas of the business and put the money in a backpack before running out the back door.
Lendvay said Jacksonville officers -- along with those from Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach, a helicopter and K-9 teams -- tracked the suspect to a residential neighborhood a few blocks from the internet cafe, where he forced a man into the man's silver SUV, took off and a chase ensued.
Neighbor Sunshine McMullen said she witnessed the SUV driving off with the kidnapping victim inside.
"The guy who took his car just took off. He was trying to slowly get away," she said. "Guess he called the police bluffs because they had their guns pointed and ready to shoot, but he just went slowly and then sped off."
According to JSO, an officer assisting in the pursuit was injured when he was hit by the stolen vehicle while he deploying stop sticks at Mayport Road at Wonderwood Drive, a few blocks from the robbery scene.
Minutes later, a second officer was injured at Kernan Boulevard and Atlantic Boulevard when his cruiser was struck as he tried to stop the stolen SUV, which reached speeds of 100 mph, Lendvay said.
A third officer performed a PIT maneuver on the SUV on Atlantic Boulevard just before it reached St. Johns Bluff Road -- about eight miles from where the initial crime occurred. The SUV spun around and slammed into a concrete power pole, splitting it in half. Power lines fell on the vehicle, causing a small fire, which officers put out with fire extinguishers before firefighters could arrive.
Lendvay said the suspect and the carjacking victim, who News4Jax has identified as 84-year-old Louis Reese, were pulled from the vehicle and transported to the hospital. He could not give the conditions of either of them, but neighbors and family members told News4Jax that Reese in serious condition after suffering broken ribs in the crash.
Police said they recovered Hall's gun, backpack and the cash stolen from Lucky Charms near where Reece was kidnapped.
Hall was absentee booked into the Duval County jail at 10:23 p.m. Wednesday on charges of fleeing a law enforcement officer and attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. As he remained under guard at the hospital, a judge Thursday ordered him held without bond.
The officers, Josh Wiggins, 35, and Christopher Rouselle, 29, who have not been named, are both at Memorial Hospital with what were described as serious injuries.