Three teenagers were arrested Sunday after a senior citizen in Ocala was attacked following a vehicle burglary.
The victim told Ocala Police officers that he was inside his residence waiting for his daughter to arrive when he heard two car doors shut. He said he went outside expecting to greet his daughter when he saw two of the teenagers in the front seats of his vehicle. He said he confronted the teens and at first they ran away, but then they turned and came at him, a police report states.
The victim said both of the teenagers punched and kicked him. He said his wife yelled that she was calling police and the teenagers fled the area with others who were on the street, the report says, adding that the victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries, which included a broken jaw and orbital fracture.
Ocala Police officers quickly set up a perimeter and a K-9 officer and his dog tracked north from the location. An officer saw several people running south from the area of 2nd Street and a short time later she caught three juveniles. One who was wearing camouflage pants and no shirt, while another was wearing a white tank top, jeans and a do-rag. The other juvenile, a female, said “I didn’t do nothing. They told me to run. They didn’t need to do that to him,” the report says.
During the K-9 track officers also observed another man, later identified as 19-year-old Ilgel G. Kiner, running toward UniFirst at 317 NE 2nd St. He scaled a perimeter fence at the uniform rental company, climbed on top of a large tank and hid on the roof before being taken into custody, the report says, adding that a set of keys belonging to the victim was found next to the tank.
Officers interviewed Kiner at the police station and he claimed that he ran because he was under the influence of something, which he wouldn’t specify. He also said he was “paranoid” and fled because he was on probation and didn’t want to get into trouble. He denied being involved in any burglary or other criminal activity.
Officers asked one of the juveniles for contact information for his parents but he “was not cooperative” and refused to speak with them. He then continued to punch and kick the walls in the police station’s interview room, the report says.
The female juvenile, who originally was hesitant to provide information, said she had been walking with her friends near Osceola Middle School when she saw one of the teenagers that she knew and two others she didn’t know. She originally claimed she wasn’t with the group but later admitted she had joined up with them when the teenager she knew promised to take her home, the report says.
She said the teens walked into a yard and she stayed on the road behind some hedges. She said she wasn’t sure what they were doing but she heard car doors open and saw her friend standing behind the vehicle while the others were inside it. She claimed she “began to freak out and just wanted to go home but waited by the road,” the report says.
The girl said she heard yelling a short time later and the juvenile wearing the do-rag went past her and told her to run. She said she looked back in time to see the victim on the ground being punched and kicked by a tall man while her friend searched through his pockets,” the report says.
The girl said the group hooked up while running and she begged to go home but was told it was “too hot” and she needed to hide. She was found a short time later but eventually released as a witness.
Officers reported that a small multi-colored bag containing one live round of .38-caliber ammunition was found on one of the juveniles. He said he got it from a vehicle and when asked which one, he replied, “That’s for you to figure out.” He also denied being involved in the burglary or any other criminal activity.
The two juveniles were arrested and Kiner was transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with burglary of a conveyance, felony battery to a person 65 years of age or older, strong arm robbery and trespassing in an unoccupied structure. He is being held on $62,000 bond and is due in court on Feb. 25 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charges.
The Ocala Police Department is asking anyone who lives in the southeast area of the city to check their surveillance camera footage from Sunday between the hours of 6-9:30 p.m. Anyone who captured footage or images relevant to this case is asked to contact Detective Young at (352) 369-7000.