Restaurant manager needed a ride to work. He was robbed at knife point instead, deputies say

Two Venice men suspected of armed robbery are now behind bars, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

On Saturday morning, William Shepherd, 23, gave the manager of a Sonny’s BBQ in Venice a ride to work to collect the bank deposits from the night before and drop them off at a bank, a news release said. According to the release, Shepherd was a “trusted acquaintance” of the restaurant manager.

In between stops at the restaurant and the bank, near Nokomis Beach, Dylan Paquin, 24, appeared from the rear of the vehicle with a knife. Shepherd and Paquin then “forcibly stole” an undisclosed amount of bank deposits from the manager, who was able to escape the vehicle.

The vehicle and the suspects were located shortly after the incident happened. Deputies recovered the stolen bank deposits along with the knife used during the robbery.

Shepherd and Paquin were each charged with one count of robbery with a weapon. As of Monday afternoon, both remained in custody at the Sarasota County Jail — Shepherd on a $25,000 bond and Paquin on a $50,000 bond.

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This story was originally published July 30, 2018 at 4:30 PM.