3 Fort Lauderdale men arrested for armed robbery at North Naples retail store

Reporter: Michelle Alvarez Writer: Carolina Guzman
Published: Updated:
Naples armed robbery suspects Credit: The Collier County Sheriff’s Office

Deputies have identified three men from Fort Lauderdale accused of stealing from a North Naples store and pepper spraying employees and leading deputies on a chase.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said the Broward County men robbed a department store at Waterside Shops on Tuesday and then fled from deputies during rush hour on Tuesday.

Deputies responded to a report of a group of men stealing purses from the Saks Fifth Avenue at 5395 U.S. 41 North.

Michael Lawrence Knight, 27; Harmon Brown, 32; and Keion Jamaal Payne, 31, fled the store and pepper-sprayed employees who tried to stop them from leaving.

They got into a white BMW SUV and headed east onto Pine Ridge Road, and deputies found them at Golden Gate Parkway and Livingston Road, heading toward Interstate 75.

They tried to conduct a traffic stop, but Brown, the alleged driver, sped away from deputies and began driving recklessly through rush-hour traffic.

During the pursuit, Brown struck another car and then drove onto the sidewalk and into the wrong lanes of traffic on Immokalee Road to avoid deputies.

The trio left the SUV and ran on foot, but deputies found all three and took them into custody.

They are in the Collier County Jail charged with multiple felonies, including armed robbery, aggravated battery and fleeing and eluding.

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