[Jaggy]

Just read the story on our online news source that shall not be named.. so I can't attach a link.. Kudos for a good job to our law enforcement !! Article indicated 3 of them were employees or past employees..

[Bogie Shooter]

Another excellant job by the members of the Sumter County Sheriffs Department!

[gerryann]

Hats off to a FANTASTIC sherifs dept.!!!!! .......keeping us safe!!!!

[graciegirl]

I so agree. And I was wrong with my musings about this subject.


We have excellent law enforcement. They have captured this makes 17 burglars or robbers directly involving The Villages since Jan 1, maybe more. I lost count.

[BarryRX]

If convicted, the average time served for armed robbery in Florida is 10 years. Bye bye felons...have a nice decade. Thank you Sherrif's Department.

[villager]

It amazes me how ex-employees think they can get away with a crime. Don't they think they will be recognized? I know, no common sense either.

[DINTY]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Another excellant job by the members of the Sumter County Sheriffs Department!

What "inside' details of the investigation and arrest that you have can you provide us? Wasn't too much information given on the post.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by DINTY

What "inside' details of the investigation and arrest that you have can you provide us? Wasn't too much information given on the post.

Trio arrested, one suspect at large in armed robbery at Evans Prairie
June 23, 2014 By Meta Minton 2 Comments

Melinda Brown

Latorya Brown
Three suspects have been arrested in connection with an armed robbery one week ago at Evans Prairie Country Club in The Villages.
A fourth suspect is at large and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The armed robbery took place at 1:30 a.m. June 16.

Keithen Rawlings

Marcus Cortuz Johnson
The manager on duty told investigators from the Sumter County Sheriff�s Office he was leaving work when one of the suspects approached him with a gun demanding the deposit money.
An investigation led to warrants for four suspects, three of whom were employees or past employees of Evans Prairie Country Club:
� Melinda Michelle Brown, 40, of Leesburg, was arrested Friday at Evans Prairie Country Club on a Sumter County warrant charging her with conspiracy to commit robbery.
� Latorya Monique Brown, 32, of Leesburg, was arrested in Lake County on a Sumter County warrant for conspiracy to commit robbery.
� Keithen Jamar Rawlings, 22, of Leesburg, was arrested in Lake County on Sumter County warrants charging him with robbery with a firearm and conspiracy to commit robbery
� At large is Marcus Cortuz Johnson, 30, of Leesburg, who is wanted on Sumter County warrants charging him with robbery with a firearm and conspiracy to commit robbery. Johnson was not an employee at Evans Prairie Country Club.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is encouraged to contact Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (1-800-423-8477).
This investigation is ongoing.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by villager

It amazes me how ex-employees think they can get away with a crime. Don't they think they will be recognized? I know, no common sense either.

That's true. There are so many ways to recognize a person you are familiar with even if masked like voice, body carriage, height, weight, and even smell in some cases.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by DINTY

What "inside' details of the investigation and arrest that you have can you provide us? Wasn't too much information given on the post.

I have no "inside" informtion. What makes you think that I would have?

[karostay]

Originally Posted by BarryRX

If convicted, the average time served for armed robbery in Florida is 10 years. Bye bye felons...have a nice decade. Thank you Sherrif's Department.

Sentence should be life

[dillywho]

To those who are always criticizing the SO for writing golf cart tickets, etc., and not out there catching "real" criminals, better rethink that position.

Our law enforcement here is outstanding and this proves it. Thanks to all of them!

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by dillywho

To those who are always criticizing the SO for writing golf cart tickets, etc., and not out there catching "real" criminals, better rethink that position.

Our law enforcement here is outstanding and this proves it. Thanks to all of them!

I believe they should give tickets for speeding because there are a lot of people going 10 to 25 and more over the speed limit here in the Villages. Some common sense on the part of the officer should be expected though. I remember I got a speeding ticket after spending a night in Van Horn, Texas on Interstate Highway 10. Van Horn is about 120 miles east of El Paso. I was going maybe 20 miles over the speed limit in an extremely desolate area of Western Texas. Seems like a waste of the officer's time as almost all the cars or trucks I came across further out from the very infrequent towns in the area of Texas were going at least 20 miles over the speed limit. This was in 1996 when I moving from Rohnert Park, CA to Palm Harbor, FL and drove cross country in a teal Saturn. I felt like a fool trying to do the speed limit after getting that speeding ticket near Van Horn, Texas as no other car was going so slow as I was. So, I was soon going the same speed as the rest of the traffic just slowing down whenever we got near a town like the rest of the cars would do.

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

I believe they should give tickets for speeding because there are a lot of people going 10 to 25 and more over the speed limit here in the Villages. Some common sense on the part of the officer should be expected though. I remember I got a speeding ticket after spending a night in Van Horn, Texas on Interstate Highway 10. Van Horn is about 120 miles east of El Paso. I was going maybe 20 miles over the speed limit in an extremely desolate area of Western Texas. Seems like a waste of the officer's time as almost all the cars or trucks I came across further out from the very infrequent towns in the area of Texas were going at least 20 miles over the speed limit. This was in 1996 when I moving from Rohnert Park, CA to Palm Harbor, FL and drove cross country in a teal Saturn. I felt like a fool trying to do the speed limit after getting that speeding ticket near Van Horn, Texas as no other car was going so slow as I was. So, I was soon going the same speed as the rest of the traffic just slowing down whenever we got near a town like the rest of the cars would do.

Being from Texas, Western Texas at that, I understand what you are saying about the wide open roads. Believe it or not, though, those have their share of accidents. A lot of it is cattle country and a lot of it has people living there and owning many acres. They get so accustomed to very little traffic that they just pull out or across without looking or even slowing down. Sometimes, because of the boring drive, many drivers tend to lose focus and then control.

As for the common sense of the troopers, the highway on the way to our plant on the outskirts of the city was one of the wide-open ones and we all tended to speed more often than not. When I asked someone at the plant how those troopers pulled over one car when others were obviously going the same speed or more, the one that pulled him over simply answered when asked that question, "Oh, it's just like shooting into a covey of quail...you get what you hit."

Here is anything but "wide-open" and open disregard for speed or traffic control of any kind is just asking for accidents, injuries, etc.