The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office arrested three men over the weekend connected to a Thursday night robbery at a southwest Gainesville apartment complex.
Police charged Benjamin Tyrell Lewis, 28, with home invasion with a firearm, aggravated battery, grand theft, criminal conspiracy, possession of stolen property and marijuana possession.
Ahmad Rashard Hunt, 22, and Larry Donnell Robinson, 18, were charged with three counts of criminal conspiracy, possession of stolen property and marijuana possession.
The ASO arrest reports and a witness gave the following account:
At about 10 p.m. Thursday, two women were at the apartment of Daniel Bleasdale, 20, and Peter Dayton, 19, in the Reflections Apartment complex at 205 SW 75th St.
Robinson called the group, wanting to come by in the next half hour and hang out.
“We didn’t think anything of it,” said one of the women, who asked to remain anonymous, in an interview Sunday. “But really, he was calling and making sure we were going to be there so he could come and have his friends rob us.”
About 15 minutes later, Lewis and two unknown men, wearing black bandanas around their faces, barged into the apartment. The witness said Lewis ordered the group to hand over their cellphones.
One of the unknown men held a gun to Bleasdale’s head, ordering him from room to room and asking him where his belongings were as the other unknown man searched the kitchen.
Lewis pulled out his gun and ordered the two women to get on the ground. One of the witnesses said she fought back, kicking Lewis in the groin. When the women, who are both Santa Fe College students, tried to escape, the men threw them across the room.
After five minutes, Lewis and the two unknown men fled from the apartment with two cellphones, two wallets and about $600 in cash.
The women shouted at a neighbor to call the police from the balcony as Bleasdale and Dayton ran after the men to see where they fled to.
When police arrived, one of the women explained that Robinson had called the students moments before the robbery.
Police found Robinson and Hunt at Canopy Apartments, 4400 SW 20th Ave., where they recovered $190, 2 grams of marijuana and Dayton’s HTC G2 cellphone.
Deputies arrested Hunt and Robinson and questioned them early Friday morning.
Robinson told the following story, according to a ASO arrest report:
Lewis picked up Hunt and Robinson Thursday night, looking for a drug dealer. He then picked up two unknown men and drove them to the Reflections Apartment complex.
Once inside the complex, Lewis parked his white Chevrolet Monte Carlo. He and the two unknown men then went up to Bleasdale and Dayton’s apartment.
A few minutes later, the men returned with a large amount of money, marijuana and cellphones.
Police interviewed Lewis on Saturday. He said he picked up Robinson and Hunt and took them to the house of Donte Bradley.
Based on the evidence, police arrested Lewis at 10:24 p.m. Saturday and booked him into jail that night.
At press time, there was no information on the whereabouts of the unknown men.
Robinson, Hunt and Lewis remained in Alachua County Jail Sunday. Bonds for Robinson and Hunt are set at $195,000. Lewis’ bond is set at $630,000.
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
