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A concerned Florida mother set up her own sting operation at a local Popeye’s to confront a man who was sexting her 13-year-old daughter — a showdown that resulted in the allegedly armed creep getting shot by cops.
The unidentified mother discovered her daughter was having an ”inappropriate text relationship” with the suspect, identified as 18-year-old Cerry Rodriques Banks, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Chief of Investigations Alan Parker said during a press conference Monday.
She then took her daughter’s phone and pretended to be her to set up a meeting with the suspect at a Popeye’s restaurant at around 7 a.m. on Sunday.
Banks arrived at the fast food chain, believing he was meeting with the teen, but instead encountered the worried mother, her daughter, and her 11-year-old son.
However, when the mom confronted Banks, he allegedly showed them a pistol tucked in his waistband.
Banks then allegedly threatened the mother, telling her, “When you hear the shots tonight, you know what’s up,” Parker said.
Fearing for the safety of her children and her own life, the mother retreated into the Popeye’s and phoned the police.
The responding officer arrived about half an hour later and found Banks still lurking outside the fast-food chain. Knowing he was armed, the officer immediately ordered Banks to turn around and show his hands.
Parker said as Banks “slowly” turned his back to the officer before he bolted away and ran around to the back of the restaurant.
The officer then rushed after him and, as he turned the corner, saw Banks pull the pistol out from his waistband.
“He yells for him, ‘Drop, stop, gun, gun, gun,’ engages [the] suspect, he shoots him multiple times,” the Jacksonville police chief said.
Hit by the officer’s shots but still mobile, the alleged creep then ran behind a “neighboring business” and dropped his gun, according to Parker.
The officer did lose sight of Banks, but other cops showed up and deployed a K-9 unit to eventually track the hiding perp in a drainage tunnel.
Parker said the alleged creep was shot once in his hand, torso and possibly “in the leg.” He received medical assistance at the scene before being taken into custody and was transported to a local hospital to treat his wounds.
Detectives were able to recover the gun Banks had on him and determined he did not appear to exchange any gunfire while being pursued.
The alleged gun-toting creep has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, lewd and lascivious conduct by an offender over 18 against a victim less than 16, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and traveling to meet after using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child, according to First Coast News.
He is being held on a $700,000 bond.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said he understood the mother’s concern but would prefer that parents call them first to handle such situations.
“We’d absolutely love to handle every situation, but this is a mother who’s concerned about her daughter,” Waters said during the press conference.
“So, I get it, I understand. But, I would say that in most in cases, in situations like that, call us and let us come out and deal with the situation, so it doesn’t unfold like this.”