WILTON MANORS, Fla. – Wilton Manors police acted on an anonymous tip and arrested four people in connection with a Feb. 12 armed robbery in which a man was pistol-whipped inside his neighborhood.
Police said a tip led them to Darrion Vankleeck,18, Corey Dukes, 18,Adolfo Med Vela,18, and Anne Feeley, 18, who were arrested.
Denis Kladchihin was walking at about 3:30 a.m. in the 100 block of Northeast 21st Court when he was approached by two men in a newer dark-colored Honda CRV, police said.
Police said that the foursome parked their SUV along the route the victim was walking and that Duke, armed with a 9mm gun, and Vanleeck, waited behind a bush for Kladchinin to come by.
Meanwhile, Vela reminded in the vehicle as a getaway driver, police said.
When Kladchinin came closer, they ambushed him.
Although Kladchinin ran away, the robbers were able to catch up to him after they followed him inside the SUV.
"I immediately ran, and when they (caught) me with the car, they hit me with a gun," Kladchihin said.
Kladchinin was pistol-whipped and robbed of his credit cards, $12 in cash and cellphone.
After the robbery, the men ran into the SUV and fled the area.
Vankleeck then wiped the cellphone to remove any fingerprints, police said, and then discarded it to prevent the phone's GPS from tracking them.
Vela then got rid of the victim's other possessions, except for the cash. Police said he also threw the gun into the Everglades after he saw video surveillance of the robbery on the news.
After being read his rights, Vela and Felley told police that the foursome had planned to commit the robbery and that they'd selected a victim who was walking alone.
There is no evidence of it being a hate crime, police said.
Kladchinin said he knows the situation could have been worse, and that he feels sorry for the people who attacked him.
"I'm sure they will go to jail, but I'm not happy for that," he said.