[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 02/27/20]
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EUSTIS, Florida — A Eustis man who began his Tuesday evening as an armed robbery victim, ended it suspected of stealing a vehicle.
Around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mickey Abraham Pahn, 20, went to Eustis Police Department and told an officer he had been robbed at gunpoint, and was unsure where it happened, but later took the officer near a home in the 1000 block of Morin Street. He told the officer he was walking down the street when a man he was familiar with, but did not personally know, asked him if he sold drugs. Pahn responded, “no,” and continued to walk down the street, according to an arrest affidavit.
A few minutes later the man allegedly brandished a gun and said, “Drop all yo [expletive expletive.]” Pahn “re-directed” the man’s arm and dropped his things and the man told him to turn around and walk away.
Pahn told police the man took a brown and black “Bape” backpack with a shark teeth design and an expletive written all over it, a cell phone, jeans, a belt and miscellaneous documents including his identification, birth certificate and social security card.
Pahn provided a detailed description of the man, including his clothing, and officers knocked on the door of a home in the area where Pahn said he was robbed. David Murrell, 18, came out wearing the same clothes Pahn described and fitting his physical description, according to the affidavit. The homeowner gave police permission to search the residence and handed police a backpack from behind a couch she said belonged to Murrell. The backpack and its contents matched what Pahn said he was robbed of, the affidavit states.
Officers questioned Murrell and he told them he was walking with Pahn and asked if he wanted to sell his belt. Murrell said Pahn then put the backpack down and Murrell snatched it and ran. He denied ever having a gun, according to the affidavit. Police did not find a gun, but they did find a magazine. The homeowner told police the magazine did not belong to her.
Murrell was charged with armed robbery and grand theft. He is being held at the Lake County Jail on $27,000 bond.
Less than three hours later, just after 9 p.m., EPD responded to Walgreens, 101 Ardice Avenue on a report of a stolen vehicle. The victim told police she left her 2004 Ford Expedition unlocked and running while she ran into Walgreens to get two things, according to an affidavit. She told police as she walked into the store, a black male approximately 6 feet tall and 180 pounds made eye contact with her as he walked out.
The victim made her purchases and when she exited the store, her SUV was gone. Witnesses told police they saw a black male carrying a brown backpack with a cartoon character on it, enter the SUV and drive off.
The officer who responded to the earlier armed robbery of Pahn, heard the description of the suspect on the radio and believed it matched Pahn. Pahn is 6 feet tall and weighs 175 pounds, according to Lake County Jail records. The officer went to Walgreens and upon seeing video surveillance, he positively identified the SUV thief as Pahn. About an hour later, the victim flagged an officer down and said her vehicle was in the parking lot of RaceTrac, 2850 South Bay Street, Eustis.
Officers performed a felony stop on the SUV and ordered Pahn out at gunpoint. Pahn told police his friend “Frylock,” who looks very similar to him, gave him the vehicle and had been carrying Pahn’s backpack earlier as a “fashion accessory.”
Pahn was charged with grand theft auto and petit theft. He is being held at the Lake County Jail on $2,500 bond.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
