Deputies: Tampa man arrested in armed robbery after DNA is found on mask

TAMPA — Authorities used DNA from a mask to identify a 21-year-old man they say robbed a north Hillsborough supermarket.

Hillsborough sheriff's officials said a masked Taurian Jarell Crosby walked into a closed Sweetbay Supermarket on November 12, pulled out a hand gun and approached a clerk, pointing the weapon at her while grabbing her and pulling her to the floor.

He then confronted the manager, deputies said, before taking an undisclosed amount of money from the safe and fleeing.

But as he was running away, a witness saw him drop the mask on the sidewalk in front of the store, located at 5320 Ehrlich Road.

Detectives got the mask and submitted it to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for DNA testing. The DNA matched Crosby's DNA.

He was arrested on Tuesday on two battery charges and a robbery charge.

Crosby has been arrested more than a dozen times in Florida since 2003, including a 2008 conviction for robbery. He was sentenced to nearly two years in prison and was released in October 2010, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.