Daytona Beach, FL - Police have a robbery suspect in custody after they say she tried to elude officers in a high-speed chase early this morning that ended in a head-on crash on Clyde Morris Boulevard in Daytona Beach.
38-year-old Brandy Bollotta of Port Orange is identified as the suspect in custody.
It began with the report of an attempted armed robbery at the Kangaroo Express at 601 Beville Rd. The clerk told officers a woman, later identified as Bollotta, came into the store visibly upset and crying. The clerk offered to give her the name of a friend who could help with her domestic issues and with counseling. The clerk gave the Bollotta a hug, then called her husband because she had a bad feeling about her. "The lady leaves, she comes back 2 hours later with a crowbar and a note and tries to rob the store for money," said Lt. Dan Dietrich, Criminal Investigations Commander with the South Daytona Police Department. "Telling them that she needed to do it to protect her child or her boyfriend was going to hurt her daughter." Dietrich added that Bollotta's family told police she didn't have a boyfriend. The note said "Please put the money in the bag I have a gun under my shirt." The clerk and her husband believed Bollotta did have a gun due to a bulge in her waistband, but the clerk still told her she couldn't do that here. The husband took the crowbar away and Bollotta fled in a vehicle that was later discovered to be stolen.
At 12:19 AM, just minutes later, an armed robbery was reported at the Sunoco Gas Station at 2000 South Ridgewood Avenue in South Daytona. Officers were told a woman, later confirmed to be Bollotta, walked into the store, put an empty potato chip bag on the counter, and demanded money saying it was a life or death situation. She suggested she had a gun under her shirt. The clerk put money in the bag and the woman left the store.
The suspect's vehicle was described as a silver Lincoln passenger car. A Daytona Beach police officer observed a vehicle matching the description at Beville and Ridgewood, near both crime scenes, and was able to see a woman with long brown hair was driving. That matched the description of the robbery suspect. The officer says the vehicle then switched lanes erratically and he had cause to stop the vehicle. When the officer attempted a traffic stop, the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed. A pursuit was authorized and the report says speeds passed 100 miles an hour at some points. The vehicle then ran a red light and hit another vehicle head-on at Clyde Morris Blvd and Buccaneer Way.
Bollotta was taken to Halifax Hospital where she was treated for her injuries and burns - her car burst into flames after the accident. Dietrich said she had to undergo surgery due to some of her injuries.
Officers found she was driving on a suspended or revoked license for failure to pay traffic tickets. She is charged with counts including felony eluding with injury or death.
The driver of the other vehicle that was hit head-on by Bollatta is identified as 20-year-old Marijo Galbraith of Daytona Beach. Dietrich said she walked away from the accident without serious injury.
Bollotta jail booking photo
2016 Southern Stone Communications Copyright
