Gainesville man charged with setting up armed robbery of co-worker

Staff report

Updated on April 24 with pre-trial detention information.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Deonte Ronell Small Sr., 31, was arrested yesterday for allegedly setting up an armed robbery of his co-worker.

The victim told a responding Gainesville Police Department officer that at about 12:21 a.m. on April 12, he was robbed at gunpoint when he went to his vehicle while working at Steak ‘n Shake (1610 SW 13th Street). The victim said an unknown man walked up to him and asked to use his phone, and after he handed his phone to the man, the man pulled a pistol from his waistband and demanded that the victim provide his Cashapp code. The victim said he gave the man his Cashapp code, and the man ran away southbound, in the direction of Momoyaki, with the victim’s cell phone.

The victim said that after the man fled, he saw Small’s vehicle in the Momoyaki parking lot, and because the vehicle quickly drove out of the parking lot right after the robbery, he believed that the man got into Small’s vehicle and left the area; the victim said Small is his co-worker, and they had been texting earlier in the evening about Small coming to meet the victim at Steak ‘n Shake to smoke, but they never confirmed a time.

The victim said that right after the robbery, a single $2,300 transaction was made from his Cashapp account to an account that he identified as Small’s account.

Officers established a perimeter around Steak ‘n Shake and searched the area, including using a K-9 team, but they did not locate the man. Law enforcement requested pings of the victim’s phone, and there was only one ping at 12:28 a.m., in an area near the tower at 2316 SW Archer Road.

An officer reported that surveillance cameras near Momoyaki did not show anyone on foot around the time of the robbery, which supported the victim’s belief that the man left the area in a vehicle.

An officer confirmed that Small drives a vehicle that matches the description provided by the victim, and traffic cameras reportedly showed that vehicle in the area of SW 16th Avenue and SW 13th Street (near Steak ‘n Shake) at 12:26 a.m. and then at SW 16th Avenue and Shealy Drive (near the tower at SW Archer Road) at 12:28 a.m.

On April 14, the officer spoke with a manager at Steak ‘n Shake and learned that Small had last worked on April 11, and he did not show up for work for his scheduled shifts on April 12 and April 13, which the manager said was unusual for Small.

The officer obtained messages from Small to another Steak ‘n Shake employee in which Small claimed that his cell phone was stolen along with the victim’s cell phone while they were together at Steak ‘n Shake. The victim reportedly was adamant that he was alone at the time of the robbery.

The officer made contact with Small on April 16, and post Miranda, Small reportedly confirmed that he had been in the Momoyaki parking lot at the time of the robbery, that the Cashapp account that received the victim’s money was his, and that he was texting with the victim a few hours before the robbery about meeting; he also reportedly said he had been with the victim during the robbery and the unknown suspect also took his phone.

The officer reported that Small had a phone when he made contact with him, and the victim and another witness both said it was the same phone he had been using for at least several months.

The officer concluded that Small was “a principal to the armed robbery of the [victim] by coordinating, aiding, and abetting with the other unknown suspect” to rob the victim of his cell phone and $2,300 from his Cashapp account.

Small has been charged with armed robbery, grand theft, and using a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony. He has no criminal history, and he told Court Services that he has worked for Steak ‘n Shake for eight years. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial. On April 23, Judge Susanne Wilson Bullard granted the motion and ordered him held without bail until trial.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.