Florida Man, 69, Charged in Roommate Shooting Deaths

Florida Man, 69, Charged in Roommate Shooting Deaths

A fight over ice cream ended with two men dead and their roommate behind bars.

Mark Lynn Robinson, 69, is charged with second-degree murder after police say he shot and killed roommates Michael Menkes, 78, and Charles Etheze, 69, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at their Ocala, Florida, home. Officers had already been called to the house that afternoon over an argument about “someone eating someone’s ice cream, if you can believe that,” Police Chief Mike Balken said. Officers restored the peace, and the two men left for a walk.

About an hour later, 911 calls reported shots fired at the same address. Officers found both men fatally wounded. Robinson surrendered and immediately admitted to shooting them, according to TrueCrimeNews.

Robinson told police he feared trouble when the men came back, so he grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun from his bedroom and set it on the living room couch. He claims Etheze armed himself with a knife, and that both men rushed him during a second fight. He says he felt threatened and fired at Etheze multiple times.

But police say Menkes was shot in the back while trying to flee the house. That evidence led to the murder charge in his death. Detectives are still reviewing Robinson’s self-defense claim in the shooting of Etheze, and Balken said more charges are possible.

Police had been called to the house three times in the past year. Balken called it a “dysfunctional living arrangement.” Robinson made his first court appearance Friday, Oct. 30, and is being held in the Marion County Jail. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.