A Dover man’s rampage, which spanned four days and escalated to a high-speed chase and shootout with local and federal officers, has culminated in a 38-year federal prison sentence; U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday handed down the sentence considering Francisco Cabrera’s guilty plea earlier this year.
Starting on January 13, 2022, Cabrera’s spree involved robbery and carjacking with a loaded firearm in the communities of Plant City and Brandon—I have to point out the intense moment, detailed in court documents, when he stripped the magazine from his pistol, showed the bullets to his victims, and warned, “this is for real” or “give me the money or I will shoot you.” Days later, escalated tensions as Cabrera, involved in a carjacking at the same gas station he previously robbed, brandished his weapon at bystanders while making his escape in the stolen vehicle, according to the
U.S. Attorney’s Office
.
The situation reached a boiling point on January 19, when Cabrera, becoming the focus of an intensive hunt by detectives from the Lakeland Police Department and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), initiated a perilous chase with officers lighting up their sirens in pursuit, leading to a chaotic scenario where Cabrera sped through Plant City, then onto I-4 bound for Lakeland, which had him blasting through red lights and nearly causing multiple collisions, recklessly endangering countless lives during the 11-mile pursuit—and during this dangerous evasion, he opened fire on pursuing officers, discharging between 8 to 15 gunshots.
In an act of finality, an ATF special agent, concerned that Cabrera would take a life, took the decisive shot, hitting Cabrera and effectively ending the threat he posed, according to details from the
U.S. Attorney’s Office
; Cabrera, after being subdued, was provided with first aid by the same law enforcement officers that he had previously targeted, saving his life in a stark turn of events of an ordeal that tested the mettle and resolve of the officers involved.
The exhaustive investigative efforts that led to Cabrera’s conviction were a collaborative effort by the ATF and the Lakeland Police Department, the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes; this incident is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
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