Armed burglary suspect taken into custody after standoff with Cocoa police

COCOA, Fla. — A suspect in multiple home burglaries was taken into custody after a standoff with police in Cocoa Tuesday afternoon.

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Officers responded to a 911 call Tuesday morning reporting a burglary in progress at a home in the 500 block of Indian River Dr. The suspect ran from the home when officers arrived on scene.

According to police, the suspect continued running northbound on Indian River Dr. towards Highland St. where he got into a vehicle and refused to come out while holding a gun to his head.

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Police say they believe the suspect stole that gun during another home burglary Monday.

Streets in the area were blocked for several hours and nearby residents were asked to stay in their homes while negotiators attempted to get the suspect to surrender peacefully.

Tommy Studstill says he was in the area helping to feed the homeless with the charity he runs when he stumped on the chaos and realized the suspect was a man he had come to know through his work. Studstill says he’d seen the suspect just two days earlier.

“He’s one of my homeless clients that I normally feed every day,” Studstill recalled. “He normally has his son with him.”

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Just after 2 p.m. Tuesday, Cocoa police announced they had taken the suspect into custody.

They identified him as 33-year-old Peter Steven Samonas of Merritt Island. He’s facing armed burglary charges stemming from at least two incidents on Tuesday and the burglary on Monday in which he stole the gun.

He was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation and will be booked into the Brevard County jail once cleared.

According to police, Samonas was released from prison just last March after serving more than 10-years for armed burglary and theft. He was released on bail after being arrested by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in mid-June on drug charges.

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