PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – A 21-year-old man, who pretended to have a gun, is facing armed robbery and armed carjacking charges in Broward County, records show. He is also accused of breaking a police officer’s middle finger during his arrest.
Cameron Hobdy used a shirt to partially cover his face and wrapped another shirt around his right hand to simulate that he was carrying a firearm when he rushed inside a gas station in Pembroke Pines on Feb. 19, according to the arrest report the Pembroke Pines Police Department released on Wednesday.
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The 21-year-old man, who was born in Louisiana and lives in Hollywood, is being held without bond. He robbed a Stop N Save at 9163 Taft. St. and later walked up to a Marathon Gas Station cashier, demanded cash and took about $230 from the register’s drawer, according to the report.
The cashier told officers Hobdy -- who was wearing a white tank top, black shorts and gray sneakers -- ran away from the gas station at 10070 Pines Blvd. Minutes later, Hobdy took a man’s 2018 white Toyota RAV4 near the Chevron Gas Station at 10255 Pines Blvd., police said.
The driver told 911 dispatch “that a black male with a gun” took his car, the report said.
Pembroke Pines police officers reported spotting Hobdy in the area of Sheridan Street and Palm Avenue and following him through Miramar and into Miami Gardens, where he wasn’t afraid to speed, drive the wrong way or hit others’ cars.
Hobdy stepped on the breaks and jumped out of the car and ran toward the Walgreens parking lot at 9050 Pines Blvd., “raised his arms” as a sign of surrender, which allowed an officer to tackle him and other officers to catch up to him, according to the arrest report released on Wednesday.
According to Amanda Conwell, a spokeswoman for the department, officers “were operating under the presumption that he was armed.”
Hobdy “resisted officers to avoid being placed in custody. Officers were able to get a hold of his left arm, but he kept his right arm tucked under his body, while he actively was twisting and trying to squirm out of officer’s control,” an officer wrote.
Three officers reported injuries, including a sprained left middle finger, and bruises and abrasions, according to the report. Fire Rescue personnel took the officer with the sprained middle finger and Hobdy to Memorial West Hospital.
Hobdy was not in possession of a weapon when officers arrested him, Conwell said. His license had been suspended Aug. 27 for failure to appear in court.
Hobdy is facing charges for the two robberies, stealing the car and for allegedly assaulting officers and firefighters. The charges include carjacking with a firearm, robbery with a firearm and resisting arrest.