An armed man barged into a Florida motel room on Thursday, scuffled with his victims, and then dropped his gun — only to return later to try to buy back his own firearm for $40, according to published reports.
At about midnight on Thursday, Cedrick Mitchell, 39, tried to rob two men at the Royal Motel in Bradenton, The Bradenton Herald reported. Police told The Herald that Mitchell broke in, asked the men for pills, and when they said they didn’t have any, he pulled out a handgun.
Mitchell then demanded “everything you got,” said Bradenton police Capt. Warren Merriman, and a brawl ensued, reported the paper. At some point during the scuffle, Mitchell allegedly dropped his gun and was pepper-sprayed by one of his victims. He then ran away.
But moments later, the police captain told the paper, Mitchell was back, begging the two men to let him buy his gun back for $40. They then pepper-sprayed him in the face again, he said, and he once again ran away.
The men called 911. An officer spotted Mitchell and, after a brief chase, Mitchell was arrested and booked at the Manatee County Jail, Merriman said.
Mitchell has a long criminal history, which includes robbery convictions dating back to 2001. In 2005, according to The Herald, an undercover police officer was purchasing rock cocaine when Mitchell reached into the officer’s front pocket, stole $100, and walked away. He pleaded no contest to a theft charge.
He is now being held on no bond, charged with armed home invasion and resisting an officer, said The Herald.
