Man arrested for November armed robbery at Green Apple after citizen tip

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Emmanuel Ezekiel Morten, 24, was arrested yesterday and charged with armed robbery after Gainesville Police Department sent out photos and video from the incident and a citizen identified one of the suspects.

At about 8:28 p.m. on November 2, two suspects robbed Green Apple Market (1602 NE Waldo Road) at gunpoint. Both suspects were wearing hoodies and masks, and one brandished a firearm while the other went behind the counter and took about $3,000 in cash from the register. One of them reportedly said, “Give me the money or I’ll shoot.”

Surveillance video showed tattoos on the back of the second suspect’s left hand and a bracelet with a clover-shaped charm, and his nose was visible over his Shiesty mask. The photos were released to the public on November 5 and November 13.

On November 14, GPD received a Crimestoppers tip that identified Morten as the suspect who took the cash from the register. The tip included Morten’s social media accounts and a picture from his Instagram account that showed a tattoo on the back of his left hand that matched the surveillance video; Morten is also wearing the same clover bracelet in the picture. The detective reported that the picture was later deleted from Morten’s Instagram account.

Other photos on Morten’s Instagram account reportedly showed Morten wearing black tennis shoes with a silver charm on the laces, matching the shoes shown in the surveillance video. A video posted on the account reportedly shows Morten wearing a Shiesty mask pulled down just below his nose.

A search warrant for Morten’s Instagram and Facebook accounts reportedly produced “dozens” of photos and videos (now set to private) of Morten wearing the clover bracelet, including in the days just before and just after the armed robbery. In videos on November 3 and November 4, Morten is reportedly holding a large quantity of cash. After GPD released photos showing the clover bracelet, Morten reportedly stopped wearing it.

On November 8, Morten reportedly made posts about “back 2 back” tattoo sessions; in photos after that date, the tattoo on Morten’s left hand is reportedly a darker skull “in what appears to be an attempt to conceal the tattoo shared in the news release.”

Surveillance video from the area of Green Apple reportedly shows Morten and the other suspect walking through a small cut in the fence to the west of the store that is not visible from the road; the use of this pathway indicates a familiarity with the area.

A witness who lives in a tent west of Green Apple was reportedly captured on surveillance video when she encountered Morten and the other suspect and then fled the area. She reportedly told the detective that she thought she recognized one of them as someone who is frequently in the area.

Another detective reportedly provided information that a family member of Morten lives within 0.3 miles of the store.

Cell site records for Morten’s phone reportedly show him close to the store in the hour before the robbery, but just before the robbery, the phone moved southbound and then was stationary and inactive for about 15 minutes during the robbery. It became active again after the robbery at the same location, to the south of the store. The detective noted that this “is consistent with [Morten] leaving his phone in a vehicle or at a residence during the robbery and possibly turning it off.”

A second witness reportedly saw the two suspects entering the store but did not realize it was a robbery until he saw them run westbound along NE 16th Avenue and then southbound across the street, a path that would lead to the phone’s location.

Post Miranda, Morten reportedly admitted to taking cash from the drawer but said he did not know the other suspect’s name or how to find him and had not seen him since the incident. He reportedly said he did not know they were going to commit a robbery and did not know the other suspect had a gun. He reportedly admitted covering up the tattoo, taking off the bracelet, and getting rid of his clothes after seeing the press release about the incident.

Morten has one felony conviction for falsely claiming to own property sold in a pawn transaction. He was arrested in 2019 after pawning a stolen guitar and was charged with fraud, dealing in stolen property, and making a false statement in a pawn transaction; two of the charges were dropped, adjudication of guilt was withheld on the third, and he was initially offered a pre-trial diversion agreement but failed a drug test less than a month later. He was sentenced to one year of community control (house arrest) followed by one year of probation but failed to successfully complete probation. He was arrested in 2022 for possession of about 20 grams of marijuana and 14 grams of crack cocaine, but those charges were later dropped. He has twice been convicted of driving without a valid license and was also booked yesterday on a warrant for a third charge of driving with a suspended license.

Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $2,000 on the charge of driving with a suspended license and ordered him held without bail on the armed robbery charge, pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him 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.