JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man suspected of carrying out an armed robbery targeting a Jacksonville pizzeria was forced to say cheese Saturday after he was arrested leaving the scene of a robbery, authorities said.
Kevin Timothy Hopper II, 35, was taken into custody shortly before 9 p.m. as he left the Pizza Hut location on Philips Highway near Old St. Augustine Road with cash in hand, according to his arrest report.
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According to the report, officers answering a report of an armed robbery in progress at the restaurant spotted Hopper inside the business, apparently robbing the place. Two employees came outside and confirmed the officers' suspicions.
Officers detained Hopper as he left the business wearing a surgical mask and clutching a handful of dollar bills. The report said officers placed him in handcuffs and recovered a replica handgun tucked into his waistband.
"Okay, y’all got me," Hopper said, according to the report. "How did y’all know I would be here?"
An employee told police she was working the cash register when the masked man entered the business, pointed a gun at her and demanded cash. She said the man left after she handed over a “few hundred dollars.”
The arrest comes after two pizzerias, including the same one that was held up Saturday, were robbed by a man wearing a surgical mask. On March 25, the Pizza Hut on Philips Highway was robbed. Then a similar robbery was committed April 7 at a Domino’s on San Jose Boulevard.
Following the March and April robberies, the Sheriff's Office said police were working to identify the man caught on surveillance cameras robbing both businesses. An agency spokesperson did not say Monday whether investigators believe Hopper is that man.
Hopper was booked early Sunday into the Duval County jail on a felony charge of armed robbery with a deadly weapon along with a second robbery charge. Jail logs show he remains in custody without bond.