TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online
Tampa Police Say Pawn Case Helps Solve Home Invasion
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: July 24, 2008
Darrel Engram
Otis Reynolds
TAMPA - After Darrel Engram was arrested Monday on charges of making an unlawful pawn transaction, police say he told them how he got the purloined property.
He had set up his cousin as the victim of an armed home invasion four days earlier, an affidavit states.
According to the affidavit from Tampa police, shortly after 2 p.m. Friday, Otis Paul Reynolds, 29, and another man - armed with handguns - knocked on Elishia Williams' home at 8804 N. Orangeview Ave. and gave a fake name.
A 12-year-old inside unlocked the door, and the suspects pushed their way in, knocking the child to the ground, the affidavit says. Reynolds and the other man pointed the guns at that child and two other children in the house and herded them into a back bedroom, police said.
In another room, they ordered Williams to the floor and demanded money and jewelry, the affidavit said. Williams handed over about $1,000 in cash and a jewelry box. The men ran from the apartment and left in a Nissan sedan.
The next day, Engram pawned the jewelry for $550. Three days later, he was arrested. He said he did not commit the robbery, but helped plan it, the affidavit says. In return, he received money, illegal drugs and the jewelry.
Engram also gave police information about Reynolds.
Reynolds was charged with home invasion robbery with a firearm and three counts of false imprisonment of a child. Engram was charged with being an accessory after the fact, dealing in stolen property and defrauding a pawnbroker.
Both men were being held Wednesday at Orient Road Jail. No bail had been set for Reynolds. Engram's bail was set at $37,500.
Editor Howard Altman can be reached at (813) 259-7629.
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
