- November 27, 2024
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This story has been rewritten to include information about how the suspects were identified.
Ormond Beach police arrested two women Jan. 1 in connection with the series of armed robberies by a suspect wearing a Batman mask and carrying a knife.
The two suspects were discovered asleep in a 2013 model, black Honda Civic in the Walmart parking lot. The car had been seen in surveillance video at the crime scenes.
The suspects were identified as Wateka Thomason, 33, and Cassandra Raffa, 31.
The arrests were the result of efforts by crime analysts at the Volusia County Crime Center along with Ormond Beach police, according to Andrew Gant, public information officer for the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
On Dec. 13, a suspect, wearing a Batman mask and carrying a knife, robbed the 7-Eleven at 690 S. Nova Road. On Dec. 14, a similar suspect robbed the Kangaroo Express at 1520 W. Granada Blvd. The suspect was described as five-foot, five-inches to five-foot, eight-inches tall, and weighing 200 to 230 pounds. A similar suspect attempted to rob an employee of Steak ‘n Shake on Williamson Boulevard in the restaurant parking lot at 1.55 a.m. on Dec. 22.
Ormond Beach police detectives had surveillance images of a masked suspect and suspect vehicle, but neither were clearly identifiable. Initially, it was believed the knife-wielding suspect was male. Analysts at the VCCC, or “VC3,” investigated to determine the year, make and model of the vehicle in the photo. From there, they determined that two women, Thomason and Raffa, had been contacted recently in a vehicle that matched perfectly, Gant said.
Investigating further, Crime Center analysts found images on social media of Thomason and Raffa each wearing Batman clothing.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood said it was an example of what the Crime Center can do.
“When you combine our intelligence work with the kind of diligence Ormond Beach PD put into this case, these are the results you’re going to see over and over again,” he said.
VC3 gives all law enforcement officers in Volusia County access to real-time intelligence and support from a team of analysts, Gant said. The center is tied into traffic cameras, security cameras, license-plate readers and other instant sources of information throughout the county.
The Ormond Beach PD investigation into the Batman robberies remains ongoing, but Thomason and Raffa are each being held without bond at the Volusia County Branch Jail, Gant said. Thomason’s charges include armed robbery, petit theft and trespassing. Raffa’s include principal to armed robbery, principal to petit theft, trespassing and obstruction by a disguised person.
