A Florida man who stormed a Taco Bell armed with a rock and chased workers through the parking lot demanding money has been sentenced to four years in state prison.
Kewarren Anderson, 40, was formally sentenced on Thursday in connection with an armed robbery at a Taco Bell in Ocala last year. The incident occurred shortly after midnight on July 8 at the restaurant located at 2380 SW College Road, according to court records and a probable cause arrest affidavit.
Investigators said Anderson entered the restaurant through the drive-thru window with his shirt wrapped around his head, holding a large rock as a weapon. Witnesses told police he demanded money and then pursued employees out of the building and around the parking lot while continuing to ask for cash.
The employees managed to escape, and Anderson fled the scene on foot without obtaining any money.
Police deployed a K-9 unit, which tracked the suspect to a dumpster at a nearby business. Employees later identified Anderson as the man responsible for the robbery. Authorities noted that he is also known by the nickname Tony the Tiger.
During questioning, Anderson admitted he was present at the Taco Bell with the rock during the attempted robbery. He told investigators he was homeless and needed money.
Anderson was arrested on an armed robbery charge and remained in custody following his arrest. On Thursday, he pleaded no contest to armed robbery, was adjudicated guilty, and received credit for nearly 200 days already served in jail.
While incarcerated, Anderson was involved in a separate incident in which he kicked and slapped a corrections officer during a fight with another inmate. He also pleaded no contest to battery by a person in a detention facility. That sentence will run concurrently with his four-year prison term for the robbery.
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