By: Sharon Aron Baron

The employees at a Coral Springs gas station said a man that was trying to hold them up for money last Monday night was using his finger to pretend he had a gun under his shirt.

The call came into dispatch around 10:48 p.m. from a silent alarm at the Speedway gas station at 4150 State Road 7 after a thin white male in his 20’s with a light beard, tattoo on his arm, and dark baggy pants tried to hold them up using his finger under his shirt. One of the clerks pushed the suspect and was able to feel that he didn’t have a weapon. Believing there wasn’t really a gun, the clerks pretended there wasn’t any money in either register. When he realized he wasn’t going to be getting any cash, the suspect grabbed a handful of scratch-off lottery tickets from the dispensing machine behind the counter before fleeing.

The area was soon flooded with patrol and K-9 officers from the Coral Springs, Margate and Coconut Creek Police Departments who joined together setting up a perimeter to search for the suspect.

Around 11:04 p.m., a Coconut Creek Police Officer attempted to stop the suspect on a bicycle. Coral Springs Police Officer Kenny also attempted to stop the suspect in his patrol car, however, he continued to ride his bike away from the officers and crossed West Sample Road into the Coral Landings Plaza and West Sample Road which was a little over half a mile from the gas station.

At 12:02 a.m., a 911 caller told dispatch that about 40 minutes earlier, he saw a man fitting that same description at the Poinciana Apartment Complex at 5980 West Sample Road. At 12:47 a.m., Coral Springs Police K9 Bandit located the suspect hiding in the shrubs to the rear of Bonefish Mac’s Restaurant. He struck Bandit’s head multiple times with this right arm, and was then detained by Officer Kenny.

The suspect was identified as 27 year-old Keith Worley of North Lauderdale. He yelled at the officers and told them that the only reason he avoided them was because he had warrants. Worley was charged with multiple counts, including striking a police dog, and was taken into custody and transported to Broward Health Coral Springs for medical clearance.