Harrison Thorp
Thursday, December 24, 2015 7:55 am
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A Rochester man arrested last year in a string of Dover, N.H., car burglaries has been killed by Florida lawmen after police say he robbed a Tampa area Dollar General with an accomplice from Strafford and led police on a wild chase.
Michael Hilber, 29, of 43 Stillwater Circle, died Tuesday when he was shot while trying to escape lawmen after allegedly robbing a Dollar General in Brooksville, Fla., early Tuesday afternoon.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the incident began when Hilber entered the store, apparently showed a gun and took money from the cash register box.
A 65-year-old store customer is said to have then chased the pair in his own vehicle, but they got away and another individual followed them giving tips to pursuing lawmen on their location.
The two men eventually abandoned their truck and split up in a wooded area south of Brooksville, where a K-9 track led police to a fleeing Hilber about a quarter mile from the truck where deputies opened fire on him.
A sheriff's office spokesman said he didn't know if Hilber shot at police or pointed a gun at them, adding that when they found Hilber he had "what appeared to be a firearm."
Four lawmen involved in the incident were placed on paid administrative leave.
The Strafford man, Derek Stephen Kelley, 27, was arrested on Wednesday without incident.
Hilber was arrested in November 2014 in a string of motor vehicle thefts in Dover in the Spruce Lane neighborhood.