A Lakeland couple pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to a string of armed robberies that hit small businesses across Tampa and neighboring Seffner last summer. Andres Correa, 39, and Cassandra Kerr, 46, admitted in court filings to roles in multiple holdups that prosecutors say left employees and customers staring down the barrel of a gun. The pleas cap a months-long federal probe that pulled in the FBI, the ATF and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
According to WFTV, Correa pleaded guilty to four Hobbs Act robbery counts, four firearm charges tied to violent crimes, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and conspiracy. Kerr pleaded guilty to two robbery counts, three firearm charges and conspiracy. Federal prosecutors said both defendants face up to life in prison. Sentencing dates have not yet been set, according to court records.
The incidents prosecutors say occurred
As detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecutors say the alleged spree began July 28, 2025, when Correa walked into a food truck on Sheldon Road in Tampa and demanded cash while Kerr acted as a lookout. The complaint then describes a Tampa gas-station robbery on Aug. 5 and a food-mart holdup on Aug. 7, followed by an Aug. 19 smoke-shop robbery in Seffner in which a customer was reportedly held at gunpoint. Those incidents are laid out in the federal court filings that followed the investigation.
Evidence and arrests
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says agents executed search warrants on Aug. 26 at two residences and recovered clothing matching what appeared in surveillance footage, a firearm consistent with the alleged weapon, a stomach holster and a handwritten ledger listing banks and smoke shops. The sheriff's office release says investigators believe those items tied the couple to the robberies and that the arrests were the result of a joint FBI-ATF-HCSO investigation. The recovered evidence formed the backbone of the federal complaints that led to the guilty pleas.
What the penalties could look like
Federal prosecutors have said both defendants face serious exposure at sentencing. The Hobbs Act carries a statutory maximum of 20 years per count, according to Cornell Law School (see 18 U.S.C. § 1951), while separate firearm counts under Cornell Law School (18 U.S.C. § 924) impose mandatory, consecutive minimums for using, brandishing or discharging a firearm during a violent crime. Together those provisions can stack into very long combined sentences, which is why prosecutors described the defendants' exposure as especially severe.
Next steps
Sentencing dates have not been set, according to WFTV, and the case remains pending in the Middle District of Florida. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the arrests were announced under "Operation Take Back America," a Department of Justice initiative, and investigators continue to ask anyone with information to contact the FBI or the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. The matter will move to sentencing after pre-sentencing reports and any victim statements are completed.
