LAKE CITY, Fla. – The Lake City Police Department has arrested two suspects in connection with a home-invasion robbery in October.
According to the victims, Nicole Parker and Antonio Thomas, on Oct. 22 a man entered the home through a window and robbed them at gunpoint. Parker said she awoke to the sound of the robber demanding money from Thomas. She said the robber stole the contents of her purse, which included about $400 worth of "K2" synthetic marijuana.
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The victims did not initially report the crime because they said the robber threatened to kill them if they called the police. The next night, Thomas' Chevy Lumina was stolen. The keys had also been inside Parker's purse. The victims reported both the car theft and the robbery the next day, and Parker told police she believed Tyrece L. Roundtree and his associates were involved because he knew what was in her purse and how to get into her home.
Parker identified Joseph L. Witt in a lineup as the armed robber. After a warrant was obtained and a three-day manhunt, Witt was arrested. He admitted to police he was involved in the robbery but said Roundtree forced him at gunpoint to commit the robbery.
Witt said he used a BB pistol to rob Parker and Thomas. In addition to the drugs and car keys, Parker's purse also contained debit cards, a laptop and a Playstation 3.
Thomas' stolen car was recovered on Nov. 17 in a parking lot by the Live Oak Police Department. Roundtree, who is from Live Oak, is suspected to be involved in the vehicle theft, but charges are pending fingerprint analysis from the stolen car.
Witt is being held in the Columbia County Detention Center with a quarter-million dollar bond for charges of armed robbery to an occupied dwelling, possession of a firearm in commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is also facing charges for narcotics discovered in his possession after he was booked into jail.
Roundtree was arrested by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office for another unrelated armed robbery, and also faces charges for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, grand theft and armed robbery of an occupied dwelling. He is currently held at the Columbia County Detention Facility on a $1.26 million bond.