Florida

Armed Man, Accomplice, Arrested After Dramatic Chase on UF Campus: Police

Police arrested two people after an attempted robbery on the University of Florida campus and another robbery off-campus ended with a police chase and one of the suspects being captured in the gator-teeming waters of Lake Alice, police say.

According to the Gainesville Police Department, two UF students were walking on campus just after 12:30 a.m. Thursday when a man with a gun tried to rob them.

The two victims got away and called 911, activating the campus Emergency Blue Light system. University Police conducted a perimeter search and sent out an alert to students with a description of the suspect as a black male, medium build with a black "banana" (should have read "bandana") with white lettering over his face.

Then, roughly an hour later, Gainesville Police were called to an armed robbery in the 800 block of Northwest 15th Street by a suspect matching the description given by the two students.

The victim in the store called 911 and gave police a description of the suspect's car. GPD spotted the suspect's car and a chase began.

The pursuit continued back onto the University of Florida campus where the suspect eventually lost control of the car and crashed at the intersection of Fraternity Row and Museum Road.

The female suspect, who was driving the car, was immediately apprehended, while the male suspect took off running into a wooded area.

Within an hour, the male suspect was found hiding in the waters of Lake Alice, an on-campus lake teeming with live alligators, and taken into custody. Students were immediately notified.

Police arrested Jared Williams, 22, of Alachua, and Kaetlyn Smith, 19, of Gainesville.

They've been charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault. Additional charges may follow as the investigation continues.

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