Florida Man Heists Lottery Shop, Tries to Cash in Tickets

One Florida man had the perfect crime planned. Rob a local lottery shop, scoop up hundreds of tickets, and try to cash in any winners – at the exact location. Justin Farley, 43, was arrested by the St. Petersburg Police Department over his alleged robbing of a Circle K shop in the city.

Returning to the Scene of the Crime – To Cash In

Supposedly, Farley pulled off his heist on May 5, leaving the venue with $7,000 worth of scratch-off tickets. He could have gotten away with it, as nobody could identify the robber, until he came back to the shop to claim the winning tickets.

The irony, however, is that the tickets had been flagged as stolen due to their barcodes, which were identified by the property as stolen. When he walked in, nobody suspected he was indeed the robber, but after the cashiers scanned the tickets, they figured it out at once.

When he failed to get anything out of the Circle K shop,  Farley fled the premises and entered a nearby 7-Eleven store. He took out a gun, asked for cash and cigarettes, and stole $120, as well as some cigs, and locked the cashier in a storage room before leaving there as well.

Most of his actions were caught on camera, which made it easier for the police to identify him (using the license plates of a car that he used to flee the 7-Eleven). However, the man was not arrested immediately but put under surveillance for a couple of weeks.

He was finally detained on May 23, three weeks after committing the crimes, and charged with grand theft as well as burglary. He was also indicted under the Hobbs Act, which alone could see him serve up to 20 years in prison.

Farley is, unfortunately, not a very good man, as he already has more than 20 years of criminal history. His latest antics will probably see the man serve a long sentence.