Florida woman robbed of $200 in lotto winnings, officials say
An 83-year-old woman was dragged out of her vehicle and seemingly wrestled to the ground minutes after collecting her lottery winnings from a convenience store, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Officials are now looking for a man suspected of carrying out the attack.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – An 83-year-old woman was dragged out of her vehicle and seemingly wrestled to the ground minutes after collecting her lottery winnings from a convenience store, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
On Thursday, officials announced they had arrested the suspect thanks to help from the community.
Elderly woman violently robbed of lottery winnings: OCSO
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man caught on surveillance video allegedly attacking an 83-year-old woman and robbing her of her Lotto winnings. Video via Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
What we know:
Orange County deputies said the attack happened shortly after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Buddy’s Food and Lotto, off Curry Ford Road. A woman had collected some $200 in apparent lottery winnings, officials said.
Surveillance video near the entrance of the convenience store shows the woman walking out of the store and toward her vehicle. Not far away is a man, the alleged suspect, in what appears to be an orange jacket walking towards the entrance.
As the woman begins to open her door, the man in the orange jacket approaches her and appears to try and grab something from her, according to the video.
Source: Orange County Sheriff’s Office
Seconds later, another person walked out of the convenience store, potentially an employee, holding some sort of item. The two appear to talk briefly, when the man in the orange jacket aggressively grabs the woman from behind, as the other person attempts to intervene.
Over the next 15–20 seconds, the older woman is pulled from her vehicle and falls to the ground. The suspect tussles with the other man before breaking free and runs away and out of frame.
Who is Diego Stalin Tavarez Fleury?
What we know:
OCSO identified the suspect as Diego Stalin Tavarez Fleury. He is known to frequent the area, officials said. An arrest warrant was issued for him on charges of robbery, sudden snatching, and battery on a person 65 or older.
Booking photo of Diego Stalin Tavarez Fleury (Credit: Orange County Sheriff’s Office)
What we don’t know:
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced on X that Tavarez Fleury was arrested and booked into the county jail, with the sheriff’s office crediting the community’s help in making the arrest. FOX 35 News is working to confirm his location at the time of the arrest.
Dig deeper:
According to online court records, someone with the same name has previous convictions for grand theft, drug charges, and theft of a moped.
What they’re saying:
An employee at the convenience store, Aesun Lee, says they’ve had problems with Fleury in the past.
“He hangs in front every day,” said Lee. “Every single day he hangs around.”
Lee described the victim as a regular customer.
“She’s a very nice old lady,” said Lee. “She comes in almost every day.”
In the surveillance video you also see a man in a gray shirt trying to help defend the 83-year-old woman during the attack. Lee tells FOX 35 the man is a manager at Buddy’s Food and Lotto.
“He’s a very, very, nice guy,” said Lee. “Whatever he can do, he tries to help everybody. Something like this especially.”
Another frequent customer, Debbie Davis, saw the video surveillance video and says she’s not surprised an employee jumped in to help.
“If they see something going on, anyone of them in there will come out and jump in. I’ve seen it before,” said Davis. “This is the most confrontation I’ve ever witnessed.”
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
