‘It was just unbelievable:’ Man held at gunpoint inside grocery store speaks out

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A normal Tuesday morning at a grocery store turned into a crime scene when shoppers witnessed an armed robbery.

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“It was unbelievable is what it was,” a man held at gunpoint said. “It was just so bizarre.”

Police said 48-year-old Tito Corley held at least one person at gunpoint at the Winn Dixie off Roosevelt Blvd on the Westside. The man held at gunpoint spoke with Action News Jax but did want to show his face on camera to protect himself from the suspect.

The man said it started when the suspect robbed a clerk.

In an arrest report, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Corley stole more than 500 dollars, and then that’s when the man said Corley rushed him.“He turned around and pulled a gun and held it up to my head – at my temple,” the man said.

The man said he didn’t let Corley scare him, instead, he stood up to him.

“He said I told you to get on the ground now and I just said no,” the man said. “At that time, he started counting down 5-4-3- so, I said fine. And I went down on one knee – it satisfied him, and he turned around and he walked back over. So, I stood up and called 9-1-1 while the robbery is going on – right 20 feet from him.”

The man said it didn’t feel real.

“He didn’t have that attitude like he was going to do anything with it,” the man said. “I think it was more of an [empty] threat.”

He said Corley tried to get the clerk to open a store vault, but the alarms were already going off after someone opened a back door. And the man said Corley panicked.

“He was getting pretty nervous,” the man said. “The alarms were going off, I wasn’t complying to what he said, the guy is unable to get into room, nobody seemed to be panicking, so he started to panic.”

The man said JSO responded quickly.

A shopper said the news has them worried.

“We’re seeing a simple morning chore like going to the grocery store, dropping your kid off at school – all of these are becoming like dangerous,” shopper Salli Solow said.

Solow shops here twice a week and said it’s scary to think of this happening at her local supermarket. But she said today, she saw a security guard in the store, which is new.

“When we allow criminals to come in and steal with no one stopping them, you and I pay for what they take,” Solow said.

Winn Dixie’s parent company sent a statement to Action News Jax saying, “The safety of our associates and customers is our highest priority, and we are grateful no one was harmed in this incident. We would like to thank the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for their quick response and commitment to protecting our community.”

As for Corley, he is facing charges and is accused of armed robbery and having a firearm as a convicted felon. His next court date is set for November 20th.

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