THREE MEN
ARRESTED IN HOME INVASION NEAR DELAND
Three masked men were arrested after an
early morning home invasion robbery near DeLand Tuesday. The trio,
two of whom were armed with handguns, had kicked in the front door
of the apartment and accosted a woman and her 3-year-old child. A
man who was in the house had slipped out of a bedroom window before
the suspects discovered him and he called 911 from his cell phone as
he hid outside. Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies and DeLand Police
officers arrived on scene less than four minutes after being
dispatched and confronted two of the suspects as they were walking
out of the front door. One suspect surrendered while the others
fled. But the remaining two were captured minutes later nearby. No
shots were fired and no one was seriously injured during the
incident.
The victims told deputies that they had
heard a pounding on the front door of 910 N. Amelia Ave., Apartment
4 at about 4:56 a.m. The trio yelled “Police! Police!” and then
kicked the door open. Two of the suspects ran directly to a bedroom
in the back of the apartment while the third, later identified as
Ryan Sotero, remained in the living room. The adult male victim told
deputies that he saw the two men run by his room. He saw that they
were armed and were not police officers. The 33-year-old closed his
door and when he heard them searching the apartment and were about
to come into his room, he got out through a window. As he found a
place to hide, he called 911 from his cell phone.
The adult female victim told deputies
that she was sleeping in bed with her daughter when two men, Javier
Nieves and Emmanuel Taylor, burst through her bedroom door. One
pointed a gun at her and they both demanded “Where is the money at?”
while threatening to kill her and her daughter. The 26-year-old
woman was then grabbed by the leg and dragged her off the bed and
into a nearby bathroom by one man where she was held at gunpoint
while the other man searched the bedroom. A few moments later, one
of the men ripped the woman’s clothes off, groped her and again
demanded money. The woman asked where her uncle was, not knowing
that he had escaped through a window. That’s when the three suspects
decided it was time to leave.
Taylor and Nieves walked out onto the
front porch where they were immediately spotted by deputies. They
were ordered to put their hands up, and Nieves complied. However,
Taylor ran back into the apartment and a moment later he and Sotero
fled out through the back door. Deputies and DeLand officers quickly
caught Sotero after a short foot chase. Taylor was able to hide in a
nearby truck, but a Sheriff’s Office K-9 team soon sniffed him out.
When deputies arrested and searched Nieves they discovered a bag of
Percocet pills on him that he claimed he got from inside the
apartment. A purse that was stolen from the female victim was also
found in a backpack belonging to the suspects.
Investigators believe that the apartment
may have been targeted because the suspects thought there would be
money and prescription drugs there. The defendants and their charges
are as follows:
Ryan James Sotero, 18, from Orange City
– Charges: armed home invasion robbery, kidnapping, kidnapping
victim under 13 years old, use of a firearm during a felony crime
and resisting arrest without violence.
Emmanuel Taylor, 26, from Orange City –
Charges: armed home invasion robbery, kidnapping, kidnapping victim
under 13 years old, use of a firearm during a felony crime, and
sexual battery.
Javiar Antonio Maldonado Nieves, 28,
from Deltona – armed home invasion robbery, kidnapping, kidnapping
victim under 13 years old, use of a firearm during a felony crime,
and drug trafficking.
Updated: 12/13/10
The Volusia
County Sheriff’s Office has charged a fourth person in an armed
home invasion near DeLand that happened November 30. Even though
three people were arrested within minutes of the crime being
committed, investigators continued their investigation into how
the defendants appeared to know the layout of the targeted
apartment and why they decided on that location to rob. The
investigation eventually led to Donald Woulard, 29, who lived
just a few streets away from the victim. Woulard had been in the
apartment before and knew the victim had prescription
medication. He was friends with at least one of the other
defendants, and investigators determined that Woulard supplied
the trio with the information they needed to carry out the
robbery. When deputies executed a search warrant at Woulard’s
apartment in connection to this investigation, they found a
stolen television and medication that was not prescribed to him.
These items were not connected to the home invasion, but as a
result of these finds, he was arrested and charged on Wednesday
with dealing in stolen property, possession of methadone, and
possession of percocet. Upon completion of the home invasion
investigation on Monday, Woulard was also charged with
conspiracy to commit home invasion robbery. Woulard is currently
in the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach.
