Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrest man in robbery of security officer and rental car
WEST PALM BEACH FL Oct 17 2017
A security officer told Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigators in July that he was on duty at a car rental lot near Palm Beach International Airport early in the morning when four cars approached the exit.
One man whose face was partially covered with a shirt pointed a semiautomatic gun and demanded that the security guard open the gate and allow the vehicles to exit, the report said.
The security guard complied and two cars were successfully taken. The two other cars crashed as the automatic security gate closed again.
Two men fled the crashed the vehicles and were picked up by the other two vehicles, the sheriff’s office said.
On Wednesday, a Mangonia Park man was arrested in connection to the thefts of four vehicles.
Jaylon Griffin, who turned 23 on Sunday, faces one count each armed robbery, grand theft and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. He was being held without bail early Monday on the armed robbery charge.
Authorities say Griffin was among a group of young men and teens who stole two cars and attempted to steal two others July 13 at the Budget Car Rental location on Belevedere Road. Griffin was tied to car thefts this month after investigators traced his cellphone activity, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
A search warrant for his phone found that Griffin left his home, traveled to the crime scene and then returned home within the time frame of the robbery, the report said.
“Them boys made it safe?” he reportedly asked in a text message sent about 90 minutes after the robbery.
Surveillance video also captured Griffin driving a Nissan Altima that was stolen from the car rental lot, according to the report.
