The suspect who police said attacked a smoke shop employee turned himself in to police and told NBC6 he was remorseful for the crime seen on video.
The suspect in a smoke shop attack surrendered to police Sunday and apologized to the victim.
Miami Springs Police say Tyrone Armbrister, 30, is the man seen on surveillance video trying to sexually assault a store employee on November 9th.
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“My sincere apology. I hope that she’s okay,” said Armbrister as he walked out of the Miami Springs Police Department in handcuffs.
The victim was relieved that her alleged attacker was behind bars. She spoke to NBC6 about learning of Armbrister's arrest.
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“I was in my parents’ house, and they told me that they had him,” said the victim. “I'm super thankful with them, with you guys for everything you guys did.”
On Nov. 9 around 11:30 p.m. police say he purchased two cigarettes from the Red Eye Smoke Shop in Miami Springs. He returned about 20 minutes later and became aggressive with the employee.
Armbrister told NBC6 he did not realize what happened until a few days later because he was under the influence.
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“I made a mistake by probably drinking too much and that’s the part where I slipped up. I allowed something to be put in my drink not paying attention,” said the suspect.
The victim said police told her Armbrister was apologetic, however she doesn't buy the suspect's argument that alcohol made he attack her.
“Being honest, a person that does that, even if they're drunk or not, could do it any time because it's a moral type of thing,” the victim said.
The suspect says he has never done anything like this before and he was shocked when his friend showed him the video from the November 9th assault.
“Someone contacted me and told me okay you on TV,” said Armbrister.
“I came back because someone has to take responsibility,” said Armbrister.
An arrest report for Tyrone Armbrister shows he visibly altered his appearance by cutting his hair and shaving his beard. In a confession to police, he admitted he changed his appearance because he saw it in the movies and was thinking of fleeing town.
