A convicted felon from Ocala, who shot his girlfriend in the back while chasing after her at a local motel in 2024, will spend the next two decades in prison.
On Thursday, a Marion County jury found 37-year-old Donald Lorenzo Roberts, Jr. guilty of the following charges: aggravated battery with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, tampering with physical evidence, discharging a firearm in public, and providing false identification to law enforcement.
After the verdict was read, Roberts was sentenced to 20 years in prison, which will be served consecutively with a 15-year sentence that he is currently serving for an unrelated case.
The charges against Roberts stem from a shooting that occurred at the Motel 6 located at 3810 NW Blitchton Road in Ocala, near an Interstate 75 overpass, in October of 2024.
According to the Ocala Police Department, Roberts chased his girlfriend and shot her at point-blank range as she attempted to flee from him on the second floor of Motel 6 located at 3810 NW Blitchton Road.
When officers responded to the incident location, they found the female victim, who had sustained a gunshot wound to her back. The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the shooting.
While speaking with investigators, the victim identified Roberts as the shooter.
OPD officers canvassed the area surrounding the motel and spotted Roberts near the I-75 overpass. Roberts was promptly detained in handcuffs.
According to Ocala police, Roberts initially “gave a fake name,” though officers were able to quickly identify him.
During a search of the I-75 overpass, an officer found a revolver that was hidden in its upper section.
Investigators reviewed video surveillance footage from a nearby gas station and traffic cameras, which showed Roberts traveling from the motel shortly after the shooting had occurred. He was then observed on the footage walking to the area of the overpass where the firearm was recovered.
Roberts was placed under arrest, booked into Marion County Jail, and charged in connection with the shooting. At the time of his arrest, he had had several felony warrants for his arrest on the following charges: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (two counts) and domestic battery by strangulation.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Meredith Poisson.