Juveniles arrested in home invasion robbery

Herbert Russ

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Herbert Lebron Russ, 17, was arrested this morning on a warrant for Home Invasion Robbery Armed with Firearm. Another juvenile, Jermeryia Siyea Freeman, 17, had previously been arrested, and a third suspect is being sought in the case.

According to the sworn complaint, Freeman had been following the victim on “Snapchat Story” because the victim was showing large amounts of cannabis on Snapchat. Freeman showed the Snapchat Story to Russ, who said, according to Freeman, “This is a lick we need to do.”

On July 27, Freeman said she picked up Russ and her boyfriend in Cross City and drove to the victim’s residence at College Manor Studio Apartments in Gainesville, arriving around 12:15 p.m. Freeman said she sent a Snapchat message to the victim, saying she wanted to buy cannabis from him. He sent her his address, and when the three arrived, Freeman went up to the apartment alone and “saw large amounts of cannabis.” She told the victim that she needed to go to her uncle’s house to get the money and left. A few minutes later, Freeman returned to the apartment, going to the door alone while Russ and her boyfriend hid around the corner until the victim opened the door. The victim said that when he opened the door, he saw the boyfriend pointing a revolver at him, and the three suspects forced their way into his apartment. Inside the apartment, the boyfriend continued to point the gun at the victim, and Russ began to take cannabis and cash from the victim’s drawers. Then the three fled to Freeman’s vehicle and drove away.

The victim said he went to high school with Freeman and has known her for about five years. He said the suspects stole his cell phone and about $300 in cash.

When officers arrived, they found a pair of female sandals and “a good amount of cannabis” scattered in the hallway between the apartment and where the suspects’ car had been parked. The victim and witnesses described the suspects and the vehicle, and an anonymous witness provided the license plate number of the vehicle. The suspects were also captured on surveillance video from a nearby apartment complex. Cross City Police later located the vehicle, occupied by Freeman, who did not have any shoes on. A warrant for Russ’ arrest was issued on July 29.

Both Russ and Freeman are juveniles. Russ is currently on adult felony probation until 2024 from an Unoccupied Burglary offense in Dixie County and was booked into the Alachua County Jail.

  • Hmmmm🤔

    A 17-year old juvenile, already a felon, not old enough to purchase a gun – let alone own one, black, can be concluded no parent(s) in the picture….people wonder where the stereotype comes from.

    Yet the liberal idiots want to take lawfully obtained firearms from law abiding citizens so those same citizens are not able to protect themselves, their families or property from thugs like these.

    Dixie county being what it is, I understand why they went to Gainesville to commit a crime. Dixie county folks ain’t gonna play that game.

  • One of the days homeboy is going to roll up hot on the wrong house, and someone is going to end up breaking the hearts of his family… Then what will happen is the woke soy addicts of Gville will start waving their commie BLM flags around and screaming about equity and equal justice.

  • For unarmed homeowners to be invaded, raped, robbed of everything they own, it would just be viewed as reparations by Gainesville leaders. What a nice community we have in good ole Gainesville! Where teen thugs are armed to the teeth, but shltty hall wants to restrict law abiding families from owning guns. No thank you Gainesville!

  • They need to be tried as adults. They used a gun
    In the commission of a crime. They all should do a “lick” in
    Prison…Didn’t king Poe & the SA office want to
    Let misdemeanors go? This may be a case where their public defenders use the “equity defense”…don’t
    We all want these criminals youths to “sorta build
    Back better”? but not so they can then go on to larger crimes.

  • Everyone always wants to point fingers, but why is showing off marijuana and bringing people into her house?

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