'There was a tap on the window': Victim of alleged teen armed robber in Jacksonville speaks out

Action News Jax has uncovered documents connecting the teen accused of an armed robbery at U.F. Health to at least three other attacks in the same area of town.

Friday, Action News Jax spoke exclusively with a man who says that teen and another young person held him at gunpoint.

“I was on my phone, and a gentleman walks by, and there was a tap on the window, and it was a gun,” said Adrian Blackman.

“The guy yelled, ‘Get out of the van!  Get out of the van!’  So I jumped out and did whatever he told me to do,” Blackman added.

MORE: Teen accused of armed robberies at UF Health in custody, police say

Blackman said it happened at the Speed Queen Coin Laundry on Main Street North.

“I was scared,” Blackman said.

“Did the thought cross your mind that [the suspect] might pull the trigger?” Action News Jax reporter Russell Colburn asked.

“That was the first thing,” Blackman answered.  “The first thing is you can tell that he was nervous, scared and I thought the gun would’ve went off just because of that reason.”

That armed robbery occurred around 12:30 a.m. on Jan.16^th.

JSO said in the next week, at least four others occurred in the same area, including the two Action News Jax been telling you about at U.F. Health, where hospital staff members were victimized.

Police have not officially connected the 17-year-old suspect to the robbery of a nurse early Saturday morning in Parking Lot M, but officers said it happened in the same time frame, same area and with a similar silver handgun as the others.

When police arrested the teen this week, they said they found a fake silver gun nearby.

“The other kid was just as scared as he was,” Blackman said.  “When he handed him the gun, he was shaking.  But they knew exactly what they were doing, what they were going for.”

Only a vague description has been given for that second suspect, who is described as a boy between 12 and 14 years old.

Cox Media Group