Staff report

ALACHUA, Fla. – Jacob David Steinkoetter, 18, has been charged as an adult with armed robbery, fleeing from an officer, and tampering with evidence after allegedly threatening a convenience store clerk with a gun two days before he turned 18.

On June 6, an Alachua Police Department officer responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Circle K at 16700 NW U.S. Hwy 441 in Alachua, where a store employee told him that Steinkoetter had taken two fountain drinks with a value of $2.56 from the store. The employee said Steinkoetter acted like he was paying for the drinks at the self-checkout register, then left and got into a red Dodge Charger. A store clerk reportedly followed him into the parking lot and asked him to come inside and pay for the drinks, but Steinkoetter allegedly reached under the seat of the car, produced a revolver, and pointed it at the clerk, saying, “I’m not worried about it – are you?”

Steinkoetter then reportedly drove away and picked up a friend at a nearby motel; officers saw the car traveling southbound on U.S. Hwy 441 and activated their lights and sirens, but Steinkoetter allegedly failed to stop. During the short pursuit, Steinkoetter was reportedly seen throwing several things out of the car, including a scale, a firearm, and an unknown amount of drugs that were believed to be “molly.”

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Formal charges were filed in the case on June 22. Judge William Davis set bail at $165,000 when he ordered that Steinkoetter be prosecuted as an adult, and Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at the same amount today.

Steinkoetter was previously moved to the adult jail after allegedly threatening an inmate in the juvenile detention facility with an improvised stabbing weapon on June 8, his 18th birthday. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $100,000 in that case.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.