In Blues Creek, a north Gainesville neighborhood, four people stood in the front yard of Evelyn and Lecreth Baker's house Tuesday afternoon. They talked about what happened three doors down the night before, because, really, there was nothing else to talk about.
Gainesville Police gave an account of what happened Monday night:
Late in the evening, Austin M. Jones, 22, and his cousin, Maranda J. Martin, 22, donned masks and broke into 78-year-old Paul D. Quandt's house at 4854 NW 75th Road. They came prepared with two rolls of tape, a stun gun and two pistols. Martin used to work for a health-care service that provided aid to Quandt, and she knew he had a safe in the house. The pair demanded the combination. When Quandt, a military veteran, refused, his hands were taped and he was shot with a stun gun.
Then he was beaten and stabbed.
Quandt was in critical condition Tuesday night, police said. Neighbors were surprised at the brutality of the crime.
"Nothing like this happens in Blues Creek," Jack Alter said, who had gone on a walk Tuesday afternoon before stopping to talk about the case with some neighbors. "It's pretty quiet here."
"As close as we lived, we never heard a thing," Evelyn Baker said. "Not a thing."
Jones and Martin took the safe — with more than $20,000 worth of gold, silver, firearms, currency and electronics in it — and put it in the trunk of Quandt's white Cadillac. Jones then drove off with the Cadillac, according to GPD spokeswoman Cpl. Angelina Valuri. Martin drove away in the same 2011 Dodge Caliber they drove to Quandt's house.
Quandt was left for dead, and police said after the assailants left he somehow used cooking oil to loosen the tape on his hands and then crawled to his motorized scooter to get help from a neighbor, who called 911. He managed to give the neighbor a description of the suspects and say his safe was stolen, police said.
Soon after, he slipped into a coma. He was taken to Shands at UF, where he underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. He has multiple head injuries and numerous broken bones in his face.
Shortly after the robbery, GPD Sgt. Steve Girard spotted Quandt's white Cadillac, outfitted with a platform for a scooter, heading out of a nearby neighborhood. Girard chased. Jones led cops on a pursuit that at times exceeded 100 mph, but ended shortly after midnight Tuesday when Jones rear-ended a blue Buick Century and clipped the right rear bumper of a black BMW 3 Series at Southwest 13th Street and Southwest Fifth Avenue.
Jones was treated by emergency workers at the scene and was taken to Shands. He was transferred to Alachua County Jail later in the day.
Martin was identified as a suspect early Tuesday morning and turned herself in after being contacted by GPD. She admitted to planning the crime and helping Jones ransack the house, according to police. She said Jones beat Quandt.
According to GPD detective Randy Roberts, Martin last worked with Quandt "a couple months ago."
Jones and Martin have both been charged with attempted murder and home invasion robbery with a firearm.
According to records from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Jones was charged with dealing in stolen property in October. He served about 70 days in jail.
Back in Blues Creek, Quandt's neighbors talked Tuesday about how he frequently drove his scooter down the street with his Chihuahua, Lilly, sitting by his feet. But they said he hasn't been outside much lately. They usually see him when the weather warms up.
Still, neighbors were surprised to find Quandt is 78.
"He doesn't look that old," Lecreth Baker said. "He was up to date. If there was a new gadget, he had it: iPhone, iPod, whatever. He certainly hadn't lost it yet (mentally)."
Staff writers Jon Silman and Emily Morrow contributed to this report.
Maranda J. Martin, 22, walks out of the GPD Criminal Investigations Bureau at 211 NE First Street after her arrest on a charge of attempted murder and home invasion robbery with a firearm. Martin turned herself in to Gainesville Police with her mother at about 10 a.m. Tuesday.
