TAMPA -- More arrests announced, in connection with Monday's sting operation shooting at a mall in Brandon. Both are accused of being accessories after the fact.
Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister says 19-year-old Gian Cantillo worked at a mall restaurant and helped suspect Jaycob Riley hide from the law after he took off, by cutting his dreadlocks.
31-year-old Eric Paul, a work release inmate at Orlando Bridge, also faces charges. Chronister says Paul arranged for his girlfriend to drive Riley, out of Hillsborough County. Riley was arrested Wednesday, with $600 in marked bills from the undercover operation, still in his pocket.
Riley and Jordan Gracia, also 19, are facing several charges in connection with Monday's gunfire at Brandon Town Center (Westfield Brandon Mall). Riley is charged with five counts of first-degree attempted murder, premeditated discharge of a firearm on law enforcement, robbery with a firearm, felon in possession of a firearm, and shooting at, within, or into an occupied vehicle.Gracia faces charges that include armed robbery, felon in possession of a firearm, and dealing in stolen property.
Chronister also addressed concerns about the timing and location of the sting, in comments provided to reporters by the Sheriff's Office. "Whenever you conduct any type of operation, you can always be critiqued. These individuals needed to be arrested. They're violent offenders that belong in jail, not out here in our community."
Photo: Hillsborough Sheriff/ Florida Department of Corrections