A few minutes after midnight on December 12th, Joseph Hildreth, withdrew cash from the ATM at the Suncoast Credit Union located at 4176 Mariner Boulevard in Spring Hill. After withdrawing his cash, Hildreth headed back to his vehicle.
Then three individuals approached him from behind a neighboring business and placed handkerchiefs over their faces. Before he was able to reach his vehicle safely, one of the individuals approached him and demanded his money, stating, “Give me your money and you won’t get hurt.”
Hildreth attempted to get away but was battered by the suspect, who continued to demand the money. Hildreth fought back, only to be attacked by all three suspects. In just seconds, Hildreth was on the ground, being beaten.
Luckily for Hildreth, K-9 Corporal Stephen Miller had seen what had unfolded from across the street.
Corporal Miller quickly arrived on scene and three suspects fled. Two went one way and one in another.
Corporal Miller immediately gave K-9 Justice the go ahead to pursue the suspects. K-9 Justice chased the two suspects that ran behind the building. With K-9 Justice out of his sight and the third suspect fleeing in another direction, Corporal called K-9 Justice back and directed him to go after the third suspect.
Later investigations revealed that before he was called back, K-9 Justice inflicted bite wounds on the two suspects, Derek O’Brien and Gabriel Varhaul as they dove into their getaway vehicle.
K-9 Justice was able to subdue the third suspect Christopher Hibbert who had run in another direction. He was taken to Oak Hill Hospital for treatment of his wounds.
Through police investigations, other suspects involved in this robbery were located at 16215 Fullington Road in Brooksville. They were identified as Brandy Faulkner, Corey Rodriguez, and Gabriel Varhaul. Patrol units responded to the address, detained three suspects, and transported them to the Sheriff’s Office for questioning. A fourth suspect, Derek O’Brien, responded to the Sheriff’s Office on his own for questioning and admitted his involvement in the robbery.
Each suspect was charged with strong arm robbery. The bond was set for each suspect at $10,000.