Winter Park men arrested for armed burglary say they were asked to evict the victim

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Alexander Ahad-Rosa, 30, and Christopher Franklin Cannata, 40, both of Winter Park, were arrested yesterday and charged with armed burglary of a dwelling after allegedly entering the victim’s bedroom while carrying concealed firearms; Ahad-Rosa was also charged with simple battery. The men said they had been asked to evict the victim from the residence.

The victim told a responding Gainesville Police Department officer that at about 11:55 a.m. on August 18, she was asleep in her room when she heard someone banging on the door and then saw the door opening; she said she had lived in the room for about five or six months. She said she tried to push the door shut, but Ahad-Rosa pushed the door open, and then she sat on her bed. She said Ahad-Rosa tried to flip over the bed but stopped; she stood up, and Ahad-Rosa allegedly grabbed her by her arms, scratching her, and moved her out of the way so he could throw her belongings out of the apartment.

The victim said Cannata came into the room and held the door open while Ahad-Rosa began collecting her belongings. She said she threatened to use pepper spray on them if they didn’t leave her room, and Cannata allegedly threatened to shoot her if she sprayed them. She said she was in fear for her life when he said that. The victim added that Ahad-Rosa took a cigarette from her hand and threw it away.

The officer reported that both suspects were armed with concealed handguns, but they never pulled them out.

A witness in the residence reportedly said he didn’t see anything, although he was sitting about 30 feet away on the sofa.

Post Miranda, Ahad-Rosa said his father-in-law had told him about a squatter who was not on the lease and would not leave his residence; while staying at the apartment, he knocked on the victim’s door, and she started yelling and cursing at them. He said she stepped back into her room, which he took as an invitation to enter, so he went into her room, picked up a basket of clothes, and put them outside. He said the only physical contact between him and the victim was when he bumped into her while walking past her to collect more of her belongings. He reportedly admitted taking a cigarette out of her hand and said that when she threatened to use pepper spray, Cannata had threatened to shoot her.

Post Miranda, Cannata reportedly said that Ahad-Rosa’s father-in-law had said he had a squatter living in his residence and that she was not on the lease, so he and Ahad-Rosa went to the apartment to help get the victim out of the residence and also planned to take the father-in-law out to dinner to celebrate his recent birthday. Cannata reportedly said another man who lived in the residence knocked on the victim’s door, the victim let them into the room, and Ahad-Rosa began collecting the victim’s belongings to put them outside. Cannata said he never entered the victim’s bedroom; he reportedly said he saw Ahad-Rosa take a cigarette from the victim’s hand and throw it outside. He reportedly said that when the victim threatened to use pepper spray and also threatened to cut them with a knife, he told her he would shoot her, but neither man pulled their guns out, and nothing physical happened.

Ahad-Rosa has no criminal history and told a Court Services interviewer that he works for the City of Winter Park. Judge Kristine Van Vorst set bail at $40,000 on the battery charge and ordered him held without bail, pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial.

Cannata has one misdemeanor conviction (non-violent); Judge Van Vorst ordered him held without bail, pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial.

Ahad-Rosa’s father-in-law filed an eviction complaint in May against the victim, who responded that the landlord had invited her to stay in the room in March and that she had proof of paying for rent and groceries as they had agreed. A representative of the victim argued in a letter to the judge that the victim had established residence and could not simply be evicted without time to find another place to live. There have been no developments in the case since May 20.

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.