Shirtless Florida Man Kewarren Anderson Sentenced for Ocala Taco Bell Robbery

Kewarren Lee Anderson, 40, was sentenced to four years in prison after a July incident in Ocala, Marion County, Florida, in which prosecutors say he jumped through a Taco Bell drive-thru window shirtless and demanded money while clenching a "large rock." Court reporting says the prison term excludes time Anderson already served in the Marion County Jail.

Surveillance footage from the restaurant shows a man in shorts and no shirt inside the commercial kitchen area, then entering through the drive-thru window, according to published accounts. Authorities say Anderson demanded money from workers and customers and chased people out of the building; "It is unclear how much cash Anderson was able to take before running away," reporting noted.

Police say Anderson fled the restaurant after the confrontation but was tracked and captured within minutes by an Ocala Police Department K-9 unit. Body camera footage depicts him behind a dumpster near the scene "panicking as he held his hands up in surrender when he was approached by the K-9," and other footage shows he "started to wail and held his hands up in surrender" as officers closed in.

An arrest affidavit cited by local reporting states Anderson told police he was homeless and "needed money." He was booked into Marion County Jail after the capture. Just hours after being taken into custody, prosecutors say Anderson was involved in a physical altercation with another person in the jail; that incident led to a separate charge of battery by a person at a detention facility filed in connection with the arrest.

Anderson faced charges of armed robbery for the Taco Bell incident and battery by a person at a detention facility for the jail altercation. Multiple outlets report he was found guilty on both charges and received a four-year prison sentence. One account specifies a guilty verdict on Jan. 22 and reports the sentence was reduced by 199 days he had already served in Marion County Jail; that detail has been included in public reporting and should be reflected in court records.

Photographs and booking images show Anderson with dreadlocks and the Marion County Jail has custody records tied to the case. Local outlets and law enforcement accounts referenced body camera and surveillance video during reporting, and the Ocala Police Department K-9 was central to the rapid arrest.

The sentence will send Anderson to state custody to serve the four-year term, with credit applied for time already spent in Marion County Jail as noted in reporting of the court action.