Mulligan’s Beach House in Vero Beach robbed at gunpoint, suspect apprehended
If you’re familiar with the Vero Beach, Florida, area, you’re also most likely familiar with “Mulligan’s,” aka Mulligan’s Beach House – one of Vero Beach’s “go to” ocean front locations for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a cold adult beverage. For some time now, locals have been talking about a robbery that went down at Mulligan’s sometime during the summer; and just this week, the Vero Beach Police Department (VBPD) shared the complete story. And yes, there was an armed robbery at the very popular Indian River County venue located at 1025 Beachland Boulevard in Vero Beach; and allegedly, it was an inside job.
According to the VBPD, on August 18 at approximately 12:30 a.m., police were called to respond to a robbery at Mulligan’s. When officers arrived on the scene, they met with one of the robbery victims who was also an employee and manager at the bar / restaurant. She stated that she was handling money from the business in a closed off office area when a black male wearing a mask broke into that space. She told police that the masked intruder pointed a black gun at her and directed several threats of violence at her while demanding that she hand over all the cash in the office.
The masked man bound her hands and feet with shoelaces and continued to make threats of violence toward her if she didn’t remain quiet. The suspect then fled from the office area stealing approximately $4,900 in cash, the manager’s watch, and a silver bracelet.
VBPD officers and investigators were able to obtain numerous witness statements, security video, vehicle information, and evidentiary items from the crime scene and surrounding area of Mulligan’s. Investigators were able to view security footage showing a suspect that matched the manager’s description and watched on video as he exited Mulligan’s and headed in the direction of the nearby Reef Ocean Resort. Officers made their way to that location – and in the parking lot recovered a black mask, bandana, hairnet, and a cell phone in the bed of a silver truck at the Reef Ocean Resort. Investigators were able to determine that those items found in the bed of that truck didn’t belong to the owner of the truck and that the items found were tossed and discarded there by the Mulligan’s robbery suspect.
Thanks to DNA evidence left behind on those items and text messages recovered from the discarded cell phone, police were able to identify their robbery suspect as 43-year-old Sederick Maurice Upton, a resident of nearby Gifford – and no stranger to local law enforcement.
Reportedly, text messages recovered from the cell phone helped determine that Upton had some assistance in his robbery endeavor from another employee at Mulligan’s, a person who Upton met up with at a barbeque in Gifford following the robbery. That person is still under investigation.
Upton was arrested by the VBPD along with colleagues from the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office on October 16. He is currently looking at the following criminal charges:
- robbery with a firearm,
- aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,
- kidnapping/false imprisonment, and
- burglary with assault,
His bond was set at $400,000.
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All of us at Ace News Today were saddened to hear that a violent robbery went down at one of our regular stops; and we are so glad that no one was injured in the robbery. If you’ve never been to Mulligan’s, it’s a great place to go for a bite to eat or if you just want to stop in for a drink.
If you’re an early morning riser, catch the sunrise over the Atlantic from one of their Tikki Hut tables in the outdoor dining area. And make sure to check out the wide variety of Bloody Mary’s on the menu.
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(Source: Vero Beach Police Department)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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