Tampa, FL – In a shocking turn of events, a Lakeland couple has pleaded guilty to a string of armed robberies that left the community shaken. Andres Correa (39, Lakeland) and Cassandra Kerr (46, Lakeland) face a maximum penalty of life in federal prison for their crimes.
According to court records, on July 28, 2025, Correa and Kerr robbed a food truck on Sheldon Road in Tampa. During the robbery, Correa entered the business and brandished a firearm while demanding money from two victims. Kerr acted as a lookout for Correa during the robbery. The pair’s brazen crime was just the beginning of a string of robberies that would leave authorities scrambling to catch them.
On August 5, 2025, Correa and Kerr robbed a gas station in Tampa. Correa brandished a pistol and demanded money, pointing a firearm into one of the victim’s stomachs until he received the cash. Kerr acted as a lookout for Correa outside the store in her vehicle. The following day, the couple struck again, robbing a food mart in Tampa. Correa entered the business and produced a pistol from his chest area while demanding money. Correa held one of the store clerks at gunpoint until receiving cash from the register. Kerr again acted as a lookout for Correa during this robbery.
The final robbery took place on August 19, 2025, when Correa robbed a smoke shop in Seffner. After pulling a pistol from his chest area, Correa grabbed a customer and moved him back towards the counter. He pointed a gun at the back of his head and demanded cash. The clerk complied by handing Correa the cash register drawer.
On August 26, 2025, FBI and ATF agents, along with detectives from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, executed search warrants in two residences. Inside one of the homes, they found clothing consistent with surveillance footage, a firearm consistent with the firearm used in the robberies, a stomach holster, and a ledger with a list of banks and smoke shops along with directions to get to those businesses.
Correa pleaded guilty to four Hobbs Act robberies, four counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and conspiring to commit the robberies. Kerr pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery, three counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and conspiring to commit the robberies. Sentencing dates have not yet been set. Each faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
The case is a result of a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Samantha Newman.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the federal government to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the federal government’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
Related Federal Cases
- Wesner, Financial Manipulation, Florida 2023 · Maryland
- Jean Robert, Firearms Offense, Virgin Islands 2002 · Maryland
- Jordan Denzel Lewis, Armed Robbery, Florida 2022 · Florida
- Ariel Valero, Armed Bank Robbery, Florida 2019 · Oklahoma
- Herbert Lenorris Smith, Jr., Armed Bank Robbery, Florida 2013 · Oklahoma
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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