Cape Haze, Florida -- A man who robbed a gas station with a Bowie knife was caught Sunday after his car ran out of gas, Charlotte County Deputies said Monday.

David Eric Hampton, 23, of Englewood East was charged with Robbery with a Weapon, Loitering and Prowling.

Deputies say he robbed a clerk at the BP gas station on Placida Road around 3;30 a.m. Sunday and fled in a white Mercury Cougar. An alert customer called 911 and followed the car until it sped out of sight.

Deputies, a K-9 and the sheriff's helicopter set up a perimeter after a black hooded sweatshirt and other clothing believed used by the suspect were found behind a house on Cape Haze Drive.

"A newspaper carrier approached the K-9 deputy during the search and said there was a white car stopped at Arlington Dr. and Amberjack Place and a man with a beard told him he ran out of gas," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Deputies located the car and determined it was Hampton's. Then they found a man fitting his description behind a nearby house. The suspect was identified as Hampton and taken to the county jail, where he is being held without bond.

Charlotte County Sheriff's Office