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Auto Body Shop Owner Found Shot To Death In Lakeland

Friends say Ernest Allen enjoyed playing the guitar when he wasn't working.

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TBO.com

Published: December 30, 2008

Updated: 12/30/2008 05:01 pm

LAKELAND - Police are looking for the killer of a popular Lakeland resident owner whose body was found outside his auto body shop Monday night.

Officers found Ernest Allen at Ernest Jr. Paint & Body Shop, 1031 N. Lincoln Ave. about 10:15 p.m. He had been working on a vehicle when a gunman came onto his property and demanded money. When Allen didn't respond quickly enough the man shot him, according to Lakeland Police Department spokesman Jack Gillen.

Allen died about 11 p.m. at a nearby hospital.

"A lot of people in the community are very upset about this," Gillen said. He said a lot of people knew Allen.

Outside Allen's car repair shop this morning, friends, family and customers took in the news. Zoraida Colon said she saw the story on-line and feared it was Allen.

"I knew this would happen. I knew this would happen," Colon said through tears of anguish.

Colon, a local musician, said she used to jam with Allen, an avid guitar player, at his car repair shop. Colon said she stopped coming by because she worried for her safety. Allen was generous to a fault, offering odd jobs to people who were down on their luck, Colon said. She was afraid they would turn on him.

"Most of them were junkies, and they were just earning money for their dope, and I said, 'Ernest, this is not a good idea. I know you want to help people, but this is not good,' " Colon said.

Police said they don't have any suspects.

Witnesses say the gunman might have met up with two other people after killing Allen. It doesn't appear they made off with any money.

Family members, meanwhile, gathered outside Ernest Junior's Paint and Body Shop about noon today. They cried and clung to one another, then locked up the neighborhood business that so many had grown to know and trust.

"Ernie was the type of guy that he wanted to do a good job for you and make you satisfied," said Reese King Sr., a customer. "We're gonna definitely miss him and hope whoever did this crime will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest."

Bishop Daryl Forehand of Immanuel Temple in Clermont, speaking for the family, said Allen's parents are asking the public to come forward with tips that might lead to an arrest.

"They're grieving the loss of their son," Forehand said. "He loved fixing cars, and he loved music. That was his heart, and he spent most of his time doing those two things."

Anyone with information should call the Lakeland Police Department at (863) 834-6900.

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