Glen St Mary man arrested for attempted carjacking in Brooker

Staff report

BROOKER, Fla. – Larry Shannon Dupree, 56, has been booked into the Alachua County Jail and charged with burglary with assault or battery, attempted robbery, attempted grand theft of a vehicle, and false imprisonment after allegedly trying to force a woman to give him her car keys at her home in Brooker.

The victim called 911 on June 1, 2022, and said an unknown man had tried to take her car. She said she was in her front yard when the man came out of the woods and approached her, implying that he was armed; he kept his right hand behind his back. He demanded her car keys and forced her into her home, then physically guided her around the home to get her car keys.

Once the victim and the man were back outside, they struggled over the keys, then the victim was able to get inside the car and get a handgun she kept under the driver’s seat. She chambered a round and fired several shots toward the man, who fled; she did not believe that she hit him.

Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies set a perimeter and used K-9s and the helicopter but were unable to locate the man. Since the property is near Bradford County, Bradford County officials also sent out an alert.

The next day, Bradford County Sheriff’s Office responded to an armed robbery and carjacking at the Dollar General store in Brooker. The description of the suspect in that incident matched the description given by the victim in the attempted carjacking incident.

A clerk at a convenience store in Brooker recognized the man and said he drove a tan or gold van but didn’t know his name.

Alachua County Deputies also investigated an incident on June 1 in which a patient had blunt force trauma to his head but denied being the victim of a crime; he said a man named Larry had been at his home prior to his injury. Deputies noted that there was a tan or gold van on the property.

Investigation of the van led to Larry Shannon Dupree, whose photographs matched the description of the suspects in the carjackings. A photo line-up was presented to the victim, and she identified Dupree as the man who had tried to take her car.

Dupree was later arrested in Wakulla County for charges related to the carjacking at the Dollar General store and sentenced to 15 years in state prison. He was transported to Alachua County this week, where he will face charges in the Brooker case; Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $300,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.