Police Nab Suspect in Ride-Along Robberies

Investigators arrested a man who was allegedly involved in a string of robberies that started on Wednesday night, according to Fort Lauderdale Police.

The suspect, identified by police as 19-year-old Jeffrey Alexander Turcotte, was taken into custody on Friday and charged with three counts of armed robbery and one count each of kidnapping, grand theft auto, evading an officer and operating a vehicle without a valid license.

Turcotte is accused of robbing a woman by gunpoint as she was exiting her vehicle in the 2100 block of S.E. 10 Avenue on Wednesday night. He also reportedly ordered the woman to drive to a nearby Bank of America where he demanded that she withdraw money from an ATM. Turcotte is also accused of telling the victim he was going to “rob her house” after the victim told the him that she was unable to withdraw any more money during a visit to a second ATM nearby, according to a police press release.

Turcotte then allegedly demanded that the woman help him rob a couple sitting in a red sports car nearby. He grabbed the woman’s hands and approach the red car after he ordered her to exit her vehicle with him. The woman reportedly saw her opportunity to flee when Turcotte let go of her hands in moment of frustration over her unwillingness to cooperate in the robbery.

His attempted robbery of the couple in the red car was foiled when they failed to comply with his demand for their personal belongings, the report said. Turcotte ran back the the first victim’s unoccupied vehicle and fled the scene.

The identification of the victims involved in the incidents will not be released, police said.

Police said this is an active an ongoing investigation. Anyone with further information regarding these armed robberies should contact Detective Justin Moody at 954-828-4018.
 

Contact Us