Tampa Police arrested a man who robbed a South Tampa Subway restaurant using a syringe as a weapon.
Witnesses say the syringe was full of blood and the suspect threatened to give an employee AIDS. 26-year-old Eliot Severied, from Indiana, was arrested at Tampa International Airport yesterday. Police say he was visiting friends in the area.
"I didn't realize it was happening at first. He was really calm. He didn't have a gun," Emily Wolfe, the employee who was threatened, said. "He said 'I'm going to inject you with AIDS if you move.'"
Wolfe says Severied was acting strange as soon as he walked into the store on August 26. Initially, he asked her to look at the bathroom with him.
"He said that there was like brown stuff everywhere, so I'm thinking maybe somebody had an accident. I go in, there's nothing there." She said.
At that point, Wolfe says she went back to stocking chips on the front counter. She said Severied continued to linger in the restaurant for a short time before ordering a sandwich. After he made his order, he approached Wolfe from behind, threatened her with the syringe and demanded money from the person behind the cash register. The employee handed Severied some cash and he ran out the front door.
Since the incident, Wolfe was terminated from her job. Her manager told her it was because business was slow. Wolfe believes it has to do with the robbery.
A "Now Hiring" sign was spotted outside of the restaurant Tuesday.
