The suspect of a Wells Fargo robbery was arrested by Gainesville Police a few hours after the crime was committed.
Obadiah Dillard, 40, is suspected of committing six robberies since Aug. 1. The most recent being the robbery at the Wells Fargo at 1717 NW 13th St.
The past robberies that occurred were at Alliance Credit Union at 412 E. University Ave.; CVS Pharmacy at 311 SW 13th St.; CVS Pharmacy at 901 N. Main St.; O'Reilly Auto Parts at 1208 E. University Ave. and Family Dollar at 508 NE 23rd Ave., according to a release.
For the past week, a suspect entered these banks and businesses, implied that he had a weapon, demanded cash and then fled the area on a bicycle, according to a release. By the time officers arrived at the scenes, the suspect already changed clothes or bicycles and blended back into society.
Around 1:30 p.m., a robbery was reported at Wells Fargo, according to GPD spokesperson Officer Ben Tobias.
No weapon was seen, but it was implied by the suspect, according to a GPD Facebook post. Dillard allegedly fled on a bicycle.
When the incident was reported, 22 GPD school resource officers were conducting a training at Gainesville High School and quickly crossed the street to setup a perimeter, according to a GPD media release.
“Our school resource officers are not here just to keep the school’s safe,” Tobias said. “They just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Just to have that force of officers in the area so quickly lead us to the suspect.”
Dillard was seen entering an apartment in Georgetown Apartments at 1324 NW 16th Ave. and was arrested, according to the release. A witness from the bank also identified him as the suspect, according to a GPD Facebook post.
Detectives are still working to confirm that Dillard is responsible for the recent burglaries that started Aug. 1, according to the release. Dillard will be charged with at least three counts of robbery and more are expected.
Follow Devoun Cetoute on Twitter @devoun_cetoute and contact him at dcetoute@alligator.org.
An afternoon robbery occurred at the Wells Fargo at 1717 NW 13th St.
