Man arrested after smoke shop employees report armed robbery near campus

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Major Leo Carney Croom, 19, was arrested yesterday after a manhunt following a report that a smoke shop near campus was robbed at gunpoint.

At about 3:05 p.m., a Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officer responded to a call about an armed robbery at Wild Side Smoke Shop (1029 W. University Avenue). According to two store employees, a man entered the store and selected six bottles of THC-A flower, priced at $419.94. When a cashier asked the man for his ID and payment, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at the cashier, demanding the items. The cashier reportedly gave the items to the man, and he fled on foot.

The employees said the man was about 25 years old, barefoot, with long, curly red hair; he was wearing a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants. The gun was described as an older-style black Glock handgun.

The officer viewed surveillance video from the store and reported that the man had pointed a handgun at the cashier while demanding the merchandise and then also pointed it at the second employee. The man left the store carrying the merchandise in a clear plastic bag and did not pay for it.

Since the store is near campus, GPD notified the University of Florida Police Department, which put out an alert. A tip was received that a man matching the description of the robber had been seen entering the parking garage of Ufora (1218 SW 5th Avenue). The caller said she noticed the man because he seemed agitated and was barefoot.

The officer reported that video surveillance at Ufora showed a man entering the door that connects the parking garage to the apartment building, and a fingerprint is required to open the door. An employee of the apartment complex reportedly told the officer that Croom, who met the description, lived in the building.

The smoke shop employees separately identified Croom as the robber in a photo line-up.

Post Miranda, Croom reportedly said he had been at the store earlier in the day and described the employees; he said he got some “weed” in a clear bag from the employees after he pointed the gun at them. He reportedly said he does not own a gun but found a fake gun in the grass on the way to the store and brandished it toward the employees after the cashier asked for his ID, but he did not believe the employees were afraid of him. He reportedly said the gun was black with an orange tip; he said he threw it away at McDonald’s after he left the store and said the gun was a “solution to his problem” of not having an ID at the store.

Croom has been charged with two counts of armed robbery. He has a juvenile conviction in 2022 but no adult convictions. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial, and she ordered a mental health evaluation.

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.