Key West The Newspaper

Man arrested for armed robbery with knife

A Stock Island man was arrested early today for robbing a Stock Island convenience store.

26 year old Israel Drago entered the Tom Thumb convenience store at 5:15 a.m. He was wearing a dark colored hooded jacket, a hat with a dark colored bandana over his face. He was armed with a large knife which he used to threaten the clerk in the store.

He forced the clerk to hand over the money in the cash register and then fled the store on foot. The clerk called 911 for assistance after the robbery took place, giving Sheriff’s dispatchers a description of the suspect.

Deputies responded to the area. Sgt. Jake Brady spotted someone matching the description a few blocks away. The man was identified as Drago. He was detained. Across the street, Deputy Boyd Williams found a bundle of cash underneath a parked car. A few blocks away, Deputy Jenna Moeller found a black hooded jacket with a large knife wrapped in it.

Deputy Williams reviewed surveillance video from the store depicting the robbery. The suspect in the video appeared similar in description to Drago; he was wearing a hooded jacket like the one found hidden nearby and the knife found was also similar. The cash recovered was close to the amount estimated to have been stolen from the register.

Drago was arrested. He was charged with assault and robbery with a weapon. He was booked into jail.