Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jarvius Antonio Mason, 25, was arrested yesterday on a warrant for an October armed robbery at the Come N Go convenience store; Mason allegedly pretended a sledgehammer was a gun and then used the sledgehammer to damage gambling machines and steal money from the machines.
At about 2:20 p.m. on October 4, Gainesville Police Department officers responded to the Come N Go convenience store (1150 NE 16th Avenue), where an employee said three suspects had robbed the store while armed with a sledgehammer.
The employee said one of the female suspects held the door open while the male, later identified as Mason, entered with a drawstring bag over his hand, pretending he had a gun. Meanwhile, she said, the second female suspect went behind the counter and took cash from the register while Mason rushed toward a back storeroom. The employee activated the silent alarm before the suspects left in a small SUV; the employee gave police the tag number of the vehicle.