Posted on 01/09/2023 7:46:12 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
ORANGE CITY, Fla. —
An Orange City man is accused of locking three tenants inside the garage apartment they live in and threatening to shoot them if they came out.
Sixty-six-year-old Lawrence Cohen is charged with three counts of false imprisonment and in addition to that, resisting arrest.
Deputies say they had to use a taser on Cohen after breaking down the door to get in.
A judge found probable cause and set bond at $16,000. Deputies say Cohen got into a confrontation with three tenants who were living in Cohen's garage apartment attached to his main home on Sparkman Avenue in Orange City. They say he locked them in there and threatened to kill them. One of the victims called 911 after being trapped for two hours.
“He barricaded us in the garage but we opened the door somewhat, like the door going into the house, and he said if we go into the house to try and exit that way, he's going to kill us,” the caller said.
Deputies say the garage has no working exits itself so the only way out is through a door leading to the main house where suspect Cohen was. The victims told deputies Cohen had wedged that door shut and that even if they could force it, Cohen had “threatened to kill or stick the victims if they stepped foot into the house.”
Deputies say Cohen refused to let them in when they got on the scene and investigators ultimately had to kick in the front door. They say Cohen put up a fight and had to be tased twice before they could gain control and arrest him. The victims were upset but not hurt.
Deputies say they've had previous encounters with Cohen, including a call Tuesday before the victims were locked in the garage. Cohen allegedly said he was armed. The weapon turned out to be a BB gun.
If he makes bond, the suspect has been ordered to have no contact with the victims, one or more of whom are still living in the suspect's garage apartment. The suspect has also been ordered to turn over any weapons he may possess within 48 hours.
Investigators say the suspect was evaluated by a medical team after he was tased, and the team cleared him before he was taken to jail.
Climate Change makes people do crazy things.
j/k
Think I’d move if I were those folks.
He is 66, looking like 76+.
Why was he so upset with them?
If he wanted the rent, they have to get outside and drive to work. How they gonna pay the rent, if they can’t get outside and drive to work?
So why was he mad at them, they weren’t paying rent? Reporters these days seem to neglect asking the pertinent questions.
His nickname is Quickdraw!
Just a guess they were not only not paying rent, they were simply squatting in his garage. A lot of that going around these days.
Reverse Eviction
You’re making me think of this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDf0IwXoOmY
That was fun. Good Blues storytelling.
One Bourbon one scotch one beer.
I had tenants like that once.
“They say he locked them in there and threatened to kill them. One of the victims called 911 after being trapped for two hours.”
He waited two hours to call 911?
We’ve come a long way (down) from Fred and Ethel Mertz renting to Lucy and Desi.
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