FISHERS, Ind. — An armed Taco Bell robber was fleeing from police when a K9 clamped down on his backside, causing him to tense up and fire a shot from the handgun clutched in his grip.
Fortunately, no one was struck by the gunfire and the thief was taken into custody, though his accomplices remain unknown at this time.
Fredrick A. Nance, 24, was arrested on June 30 by the Fishers Police Department after being caught fleeing from the scene of an armed robbery that involved two masked men crawling through a Taco Bell drive-thru window and forcing employees at gunpoint to open a safe.
Nance is charged with 27 different criminal counts for his part in the robbery including a Level 2 felony charge of burglary and multiple Level 3 felonies including armed robbery, kidnapping and criminal confinement.
According to court documents, Nance and an unknown accomplice climbed through the drive-thru window of a Taco Bell located at 11425 Allisonville Road in Fishers at approximately 1:30 a.m. on June 30. Nance was armed with a handgun modified with a machine gun conversion device and an extended magazine.
A witness said the second suspect was also armed with a gun.
Employees fled after spotting the armed men climbing into the fast food restaurant but Nance and his accomplice managed to catch several of them. Employees told police that the robbers threatened to shoot them if they ran and pointed the gun at them while forcing them to open a safe and the cash registers.
Nance ended up fleeing the Taco Bell after stealing several employees’ phones and more than $1,000 in cash from the restaurant. Nance also took one of the employee’s vehicles — a Dodge Challenger.
A K9 officer responding to the robbery spotted the stolen Challenger and gave pursuit, court documents reveal. Nance is accused of driving recklessly in his attempt to outrun the police officer. He ended up bailing out of the car at Castle Creek Apartments and running off.
K9 Tiesto chased after Nance with his handler reportedly hearing a gunshot and becoming worried for his K9 partner. The officer found Tiesto latched onto Nance’s backside and quickly secured him.
Police found Nance’s handgun under a vehicle nearby.
According to court documents, Nance ended up confessing to the robbery and called it a “crime of opportunity.” Nance said he had been in a vehicle with two other people when he decided to rob the Taco Bell. He and one other suspect crawled through the drive-thru window to commit the crime.
Nance did not identify his accomplices, according to the court documents.
He did, however, admit to firing a shot from his handgun while running from police, documents detail. Nance said it was inadvertent and happened when he tensed up and squeezed the trigger when K9 Tiesto bit him on the rear.
No one appeared to be struck by the shot.
Documents detail how both video surveillance footage and witness testimony also matched the outfit Nance was wearing when caught by police.
Police said the money stolen from Taco Bell was not recovered.
Anyone with information about the other suspects in this robbery are asked to call police investigators at (317) 595-3300.
