A woman accused of robbing a Bradenton Dollar Tree at knifepoint of a claimed weapon last year has finally been caught — nearly 2,500 miles away in Los Angeles. Adrian Randall, 40, was taken into custody on Friday by the FBI Los Angeles Fugitive Task Force, closing out a search that stretched across state lines for roughly a year.
According to the Bradenton Police Department, Randall walked into the Dollar Tree at 502 1st Street West at approximately 9:24 a.m. on July 8, 2025, wearing a heavy coat and covering her face despite Florida's summer heat. She spent only about two minutes inside the store, confronting an employee in the store's office and instructing them to empty the safe, police say. In a video statement, the store manager said the suspect told the employee, “open the safe, I got a gun.”
🚨 CASE UPDATE! 🚨 Adrian Randall, the suspect in a 2025 armed robbery at Dollar Tree (502 1st St), has been located - in Los Angeles, CA. After a year-long investigation, Randall was tracked to the West Coast and taken into custody on Friday, August 7, 2026, by the FBI Los… pic.twitter.com/UqGHDZu7Ka
— Bradenton Police Department (@BradentonPD) August 10, 2026
Company safety guidelines instructed the employee to comply and hand over cash rather than risk a confrontation, the manager said in the police video release. Forensic evidence later linked Randall to the scene, and Bradenton detectives assigned the case, numbered 2025-004991, to Detective Jay Gow, who worked with CrimeStoppers of Manatee County to solicit public tips throughout the year that followed.
A Year-Long Hunt That Went Nationwide
When local leads failed to turn up Randall's whereabouts in Florida, Bradenton police launched a public appeal campaign in December 2025 featuring a video titled “WHERE IS ADRIAN?” in an effort to keep the case active. Randall, who had a prior criminal record spanning arrests in both Manatee and Lee counties, had by then evaded local authorities and fled the state entirely, eventually surfacing in California.
Her arrest fell to the FBI Los Angeles Fugitive Task Force, a multi-agency partnership built specifically to track down and apprehend violent felons who cross state or national borders to dodge local warrants, according to the Fakhimi Law Firm. Randall remains in custody in Los Angeles, and no information is currently available regarding her extradition back to Manatee County.
What Happens Next in California Courts
Any return to Florida will have to move through a formal legal process. Under California Penal Code § 1548.1 and the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, out-of-state fugitives arrested in Los Angeles must go through court proceedings before being transferred across state lines under a Governor's Warrant, per the Kraut Law Group. Fugitives in that position can choose to waive extradition outright or contest their return through a habeas corpus petition, though it is not yet known which path Randall will take.
If she is returned to Manatee County to face charges, the stakes are significant. Under Florida Statute § 812.13, armed robbery involving a firearm or deadly weapon is a first-degree felony that carries penalties up to life imprisonment in state prison, according to Online Sunshine, Florida's official statutes portal. It remains unclear whether additional charges could be filed once Randall is back in Florida, or exactly what forensic evidence investigators used to tie her to the scene.
A Commercial Corridor Near Downtown Bradenton
The Dollar Tree that was targeted sits along a primary commercial transit corridor near downtown Bradenton, roughly 30 miles south of Tampa, according to Sunshine Movers. The stretch of 1st Street West serves as a major artery connecting downtown Bradenton to the rest of Manatee County, putting the store in a heavily trafficked area.
Robberies like the one at Dollar Tree are not the norm in Bradenton, though they still occur with some regularity. Crime data analyzed by OpenCrime shows the city recorded 30 robberies and 258 total violent crime incidents in 2024, a 26.2 percent drop in overall violent crime compared with the year before. Even with that decline, the case underscores how a single, fast-moving retail robbery can turn into a year-long, cross-country manhunt before it's finally resolved.
