Man on pre-trial release for attempted homicide arrested for armed robbery

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Terrex Montresso Thagard, Jr., 20, was arrested yesterday on a warrant for a January armed robbery; he was on pre-trial release for attempted homicide.

Jamarri Alley Thagard was previously arrested for the January armed robbery and remains in custody. The victim told a Gainesville Police Department officer that he went to Tiger Bay Apartments at about 8:54 p.m. on January 31 after a Facebook account (later deleted) offered to buy an Xbox he had advertised for sale on Gainesville Marketplace.

The victim’s car is reportedly equipped with front and rear cameras that capture audio, and the cameras reportedly showed two black male suspects approaching his car from the rear. One suspect wore a white hoodie, tan pants, and bright yellow slides. The other suspect wore all black, with red shoes and a face mask.

The suspect wearing a white hoodie put a gun to the victim’s head and threatened to kill him, then the suspects stole the victim’s Xbox, $200 in cash, and a tan Taurus handgun; they also forced the victim to send $500 via CashApp to a specific account. The suspects then fled on foot.

The audio recording on the victim’s vehicle reportedly captured Jamarri Thagard calling the other suspect “Terrex” three different times, and the video showed the second suspect wearing a gold bracelet on his right wrist and a key chain linked to his pants. Video surveillance from Tiger Bay shows the suspects arriving on foot from the north on SE 24th Street. After robbing the victim, they walked farther into the complex, then walked back toward the entrance and left, walking northbound on SE 24th Street. However, the video does not show the suspects carrying the Xbox as they left.

The victim searched Instagram for users with an account name matching the CashApp account name and showed the officer an account that showed a picture of Jamarri Thagard; the profile picture for the CashApp account also appears to be Jamarri Thagard. Both Jamarri and Terrex Thagard reportedly previously lived at the address that was given to the victim for the transaction; the arrest report states that the men are brothers.

Officers reportedly found Jamarri at a different address at Tiger Bay Apartments on February 2; at the time of his arrest, he was reportedly wearing bright yellow slides that matched the slides seen in the victim’s car video. After receiving consent to search the apartment where Thagard was arrested, officers reportedly found the victim’s stolen gun.

An officer listened to Jamarri’s jail phone calls, which reportedly included numerous conversations with Terrex, providing officers with Terrex’ phone number. A historical cell site analysis of the phone used by Terrex showed that phone about 100-400 meters north of the robbery at the time of the robbery, consistent with the direction the suspects came from and went back to. The arrest report notes that this is consistent with Terrex leaving his phone behind at a nearby location before going to Tiger Bay to commit the robbery.

An officer reportedly found photos of Terrex that showed the bracelet on his right wrist and a key chain linked to his belt.

A subpoena to CashApp reportedly produced records showing that the account belongs to Jamarri and included transactions between Jamarri and Terrex.

A search warrant on Jamarri’s cell phone showed messages between Jamarri and Terrex on the night of the armed robbery referring to a “pole” (firearm) that Jamarri had and “tryna hit for some shoes,” which the arrest report says is slang for doing something illegal to get money or other items of value. Jamarri reportedly texted “Xbox S” to Terrex just before the robbery, and a few hours later, Jamarri reportedly argued by text with a friend about how the friend’s sister was upset that a “game” was at her residence and “they gon track the game.” The phone history also reportedly shows that Jamarri sent money to Terrex after the robbery and tried to sell an Xbox on Facebook after the robbery.

The friend and her sister live at the address where Jamarri was arrested on February 2 in Tiger Bay.

Terrex was arrested last April and charged with attempted first-degree murder after a drive-by shooting in the 1200 block of NE 23rd Avenue. When formal charges were not filed within 40 days, Judge William Davis ordered him released on his own recognizance on June 12. A formal charge of attempted first-degree murder was filed on September 1, but Terrex remained on pre-trial release with conditions of not possessing any firearms and refraining from all criminal activity.

Terrex Thagard has now been charged with armed robbery, grand theft of a firearm, and using a two-way communications device to commit a felony. He has no criminal convictions. The warrant signed by Judge William Davis recommended bail of $135,000, but prosecutors have filed notice that they intend to file a motion for pre-trial detention without bail, so Terrex Thagard is being held without bail pending that hearing and order.

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.