Clay County man arrested after shooting at Jax police in dollar store robbery

A gun-wielding robber who threatened to shoot a Jacksonville store clerk and fired at police during a chase Monday has been charged with eight felonies and is being held in jail without bail.

The pursuit started after police were called to a Dollar General Store robbery about 9:30 a.m. on the 6300 block of 103rd Street. A woman who worked at the store said a man who identified himself as a secret shopper lured her to the back of the store and demanded to get in the office.

She told police the man pulled a gun from his waistband and threatened to shoot her. The woman said she tried to close the door and hit her head when she jumped down some stairs.

Another man in the store called police after hearing what he thought was a gunshot and seeing the woman on the floor. He said the robber walked out of the store and drove away in a truck.

Arriving police spotted a truck matching the description. Officers followed it through a subdivision off Morse Avenue until it was stopped and abandoned at a convenience store on Ricker Road. The man was seen running off.

Officers said the man repeatedly aimed his gun at police as they chased him on foot through a neighborhood off Ricker Road. The man fired one shot in their direction after climbing over a residential fence.

He was arrested moments later as he tried to hide behind a car in the 7600 block of Arancio Drive, according to the Sheriff’s Office arrest report. Police also recovered a black Ruger handgun.

Justin Rashad Howard, 21, of Orange Park was charged with three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, two counts of aggravated assault, armed robbery, fleeing, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two misdemeanor warrants.

Howard has been convicted on a charge of assault with intent to kill in South Carolina.

Dana Treen