Sebastian man sentenced to prison for armed robberies in Orlando, Melbourne

A Sebastian man was sentenced to nearly two decades in prison for what federal prosecutors said were armed robberies of a bank, restaurant and discount store over six days in July 2022 in Melbourne and Orlando.

Bernard Rogers, 35, of the 1100 block of Barber Street, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the mid-July robberies of a T.D. Bank and Cracker Barrel restaurant in Melbourne along with a Dollar General store in Orlando, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida in Orlando.

Robberies: The robberies occurred July 14, 18 and 20 of 2022 and all involved demands for cash from cashiers at gunpoint, a black handgun and a rented vehicle. Prosecutors said he fled the restaurant July 14 with $1,000 in a rented vehicle. He fled the store July 18 with $300 in the same rental vehicle. He left the bank July 20 in that vehicle with more than $3,000.

Arrest: He was arrested July 20, 2022 by Brevard County deputies and charged with robbery with a firearm and grand theft after the bank robbery. Law enforcement officers stopped a 2022 blue Hyundai Genesis at U.S. 1 and State Road 520 in Cocoa after following an activated GPS tracker in the bag of money Bernard took from the bank. Rogers was arrested in his rental car with more than $3,000, the GPS tracker, and a black Ruger .380 firearm loaded with six bullets. License plate readers and other electronic information from Roger’s phone and rental car placed him at the scenes of all three robberies.

Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Corey on Twitter(X) @coreyarwood, or reach him by phone at 772-978-2246.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Sebastian man sent to prison for armed robberies in Orlando, Melbourne