Three of four alleged assailants involved in a home invasion robbery more than two months ago in Espanola have been caught.
Friday, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office charged three teens with home invasion robbery and grand theft of a firearm: Sean Giddens, 19, of 118 Espanola Road and Earnest Watson, 17, and Justin Mickens, 18, both of 200 Knox Jones Ave., Bunnell.
Richard Pettit, 60, told deputies the night of June 27 that he was watching television when four men or boys entered his house. One of them wore a scarf covering half of his face. One of them approached him with a bat, pulled him out of his wheelchair, threw him to the ground, and said to him, “where’s the stuff?” (A subsequent report would relate the line as “where is the shit?”) He then started hitting him in the head and arm with the bat and kept repeating, “where’s the stuff?” At one point the suspect kicked Pettit on his side and stepped on his left foot, cutting one of his toes.
While the suspect with the bat was hitting him, Pettit said the other three males went into the bedroom to the right of the front doorway and took three shotguns: an H&R .410 gauge with an 18-inch barrel and a red and brown stock; a Remington 12 gauge pump action with an 18-inch barrel and brown stock; and an unknown brand 12 gauge single shot. All of the shotguns were valued at $200 each.
The male with the bat also took Pettit’s wallet, described as a man’s leather bi-fold wallet containing $90 in cash, a Bank of America Visa debit card, an unknown bank visa debit card, Social Security card and a Food Stamp card. Pettit said he did not recognize any of the males.
On July 1, two of the stolen firearms were recovered in Espanola with the assistance of six local residents, according to Watson’s arrest report. Information obtained from anonymous tipsters and an alleged eyewitness in Espanola identified four suspects. The sheriff’s office redacted the name of the fourth suspect in an arrest report, but said it is pursuing leads about that fourth suspect.
The arrest report suggests that the alleged assailants had been told by one or more friends that there were firearms and pills in Pettit’s house, and that that was the attraction for the home invasion.
Giddens remains at the Flagler County Jail, where he was booked Friday afternoon, on $12,000 bond.
Investigation on scene revealed no forced entry to the residence but Pettit stated that the front door was not locked. There was substantial blood on the floor at the foot of Pettit’s wheelchair where he was sitting, because of his foot injury.
“Richard stated that he did not lose consciousness during the altercation from being hit in the head,” a police report stated in June. Pettit “declined to be transported to the hospital. He said the male did not strike him very hard with the bat, it was more of a poking strike with the end of the bat. Paramedics dressed his cut toe on scene.”
Shocked, I tell you... says
When you attack someone with a baseball bat, that should be attempted murder. Hope these gentlemen get what’s coming to them.
anon says
@ Shocked: I completely agree, attempted murder. Won’t happen though.
Diego Miller says
In my experience I have found if you are not actually wearing your gun it is usually to late to retrieve once things unfold. It appears the victim didn’t have a dog to at least give him some warning.
Ben Dover says
And they wonder why Trayvon was profiled, where`s Al (The Mouth) Sharpton now?????
A.S.F. says
This has nothing to do with Trayvon Martin. It’s like saying we should profile White people with a certain kind of mustache because they resemble Adolf Hitler.
dlf says
Maybe we should do both, I bet we catch more of the Martin types then we do the Hitler type, just look at Flagler Live reports and your local news.
A.S.F. says
dlf–I see plenty of White individuals who are alleged to have committed crimes written and talked about on this forum, in local news papers and on the news. Did you read about the older gentleman in Flagler Beach who shot his neighbor as he was trying to crawl away from him into his own house, the recent alleged rape in Flagler Beach, the women thieves who struck Las Palmas, the guy who sped through a local parking lot on some kind of bizarre personal chase, the woman who allegedly instigated two male associates of hers (such fine upstanding individuals to begin with) to commit a homicidal beating that recently took place in the Hammock, to name a few? None of the individuals involved in the above-mentioned incidents were Black. Imagine that!!! Right here in Flagler County!!! Crime is the problem and it comes in all shapes, sizes, ages, sexes AND colors.
dlf says
You are correct, but look at the numbers and they all point to the black male, that is a fact. Prison population, black on black killings, I am sorry but that is the facts; we are dealing with, being black or white .
A.S.F. says
dlf–They are YOUR facts but not necessarily THE facts. As far as the prison argument goes, I do not think that justice works any more equally in our society than the economy does. I used to do drug and alcohol evaluations for the courts for years and I saw how differently cases were treated, depending on the age, economical status, color and sex of the defendent. I’ve seen inequality on both extremes of the spectrum but, to me, inequality in never right. Only a fool would claim that racism (ageism, sexism) doesn’t exist in our country. While we are all guilty of prejudice sometimes, I would hope we could all strive to be better human beings in relationship to each other, regardless of color, age, sex or bank account. It amazes me how many people on this forum scream about how morally just it is to “stand your ground”–Yet, when protesters “stand their ground” by standing up for what they feel is necessary and right, how offensive you seem to find it! At least, Reverend Jackson, Sharpton and the “Dream Defenders” are not doing it behind the barrel of a gun. It must be because they are SUCH SAVAGES!
ohrin says
with this comment, it just goes to show that you and white america knows that trayvon was profiled and murdered, it doesnt make it right but that just how white america visualize a black man. im a black man and ive been looked down on looked back at by white people (mostly women) and i just politely let them know that there is no need to keep looking back cause you dont have nothing i want and i just keep it moving.
now the other part of your comment , im with you 110%.
Ele says
Good reason for keeping “stand your ground” law in Florida.
The Geode says
Hard to “stand your ground” when you’re lying flat on it. Owning and having a gun is worthless when someone REALLY wants to do you harm. Remember the story a while back when the guy HAD a shot-gun on top of his refrigerator and STILL got home invaded? He was in the kitchen when it happened. The “bad guy” isn’t going to wait until you get your gun ready to make it a fair fight. Some of you people need to realize this and watch your surroundings accordingly – and not live by the false bravado you need from a gun.
markingthedays says
Don’t bring Stand Your Ground up in this case, because it isn’t relevant. Stand Your Ground doesn’t apply to someone defending themselves on their own property.
Ele says
The Florida stand your ground law is a self-defense, self-protection law:
It establishes that law-abiding residents and visitors may legally presume the threat of bodily harm or death from anyone who breaks into a RESIDENCE or occupied vehicle and may use defensive force, including deadly force, against the intruder.
SO, HOME IS INCLUDED.
Mike says
Crime is crime, white black or yellow, they only show the one individual so how do we know what color the others are? I would love to see them clean up Flagler, but they cannot just go around arresting every kid they see. The real problem lies in how easy it is for these thugs to get out, Judges need to get tougher on crime, add years to sentences, and high dollars to bond hearings. Maybe if we make prison a crappy place to be no one will want to go there, but insted we have TV, and other ammenities, this is niot vacation. Prison should be forced labor, teach them a skill, but in no way coddle them, basic food and water, screw theeir rights they gave those up when they decided to commit a crime. The racist remarks based on what you do not know are disgusting to me, we need to be one society undived by race, religion or age, stop the madness.
anonymous says
@ A.S.F, It’s called white denial. Some of our Flagler County citizens salivate at seeing the mug shots of an African American, in their mind it gives them the right to level all sorts, need more guns, immediate death penalty and punishment the same biased garbage rolled up the American Flag they claim makes them better than everyone else. It’s funny how it works, African American mentions prejudice they’re playing the “race card”. Comments like Bendovers incite the fear card and he admits profiling takes place even when they say it doesn’t any more just like they still have white hoods in their closets. Still trying to figure out what atrocity has happened to white people by blacks in this country for them to keep acting like victims who have to fight back??? Only conclusion is a guilty conscience.
ANONYMOUSAY says
Ben Dover – For the last time, because you have “black friends” doesn’t guarantee you can’t and won’t make biased or prejudicial statements. Now follow your statement up with what you say behind closed doors “I just wouldn’t want my daughter to marry one”. And slave owners loved their slaves too, loved them so much they made babies with him. If all you have to worry about is Jackson and Sharpton your living a good peaceful life, if you can’t deal with those two YOU definitely couldn’t handle being black in America at any point in your life. I find it funny how many white people give George Zimmerman the benefit of the doubt? You take a murderers words as gospel. HIS statements were taken as fact, yeah the person that lied to the courts about a second passport and hidden money from his lawyers that used bad judgment in every decision he made that night suddenly makes the right one when he pulled the trigger. It really has become so evident that a majority of opinionated white America for some reason has to deflect responsibility of what takes place in this world. Just keep in mind a follow up investigation had to take place. Al Sharpton only became involved in that case when the investigation stopped at the leading State Attorneys (who by the way stepped down for conflict of interest) doing after receiving input from Bill lee and Zimmerman’s father. That’s why the Feds got involved. George Zimmerman’s so called eye witnesses were all his neighbors. Once they realized it was him and he killed a “THUG” you don’t think their stories shifted in his favor? You don’t think they watched through the blinds the next day at his walk through of the supposed events? The killer is the one who said Trayvon Martin acted out, and him being a representation of your world you believe it. The stand your ground law is nothing but a legal tool for a scared white person to shoot a “scary person” black or otherwise without penalty. Because when it goes before a jury if even making it that far the person will walk just like Zimmerman. Money is no longer white Americas new best friend it’s stand your ground! This back and forth makes no sense because people like you will never get it. White America doesn’t want to accept responsibility for the atrocities it’s done but its ok for you to make every black male responsible for each other’s deeds. You can’t have it both ways. So when a black person cry’s racism are they wrong? After all this country’s history was built off of it, absurd. It would be good for you to google Author and Speaker Tim Wise, a Caucasian man who does wonders at explaining your own history, denial, and privilege that white America likes to forget about.