Semiautomatic gun under pillow foils attempted robbery in hotel room
By SHARON TURCO,
[email protected]
A guest at a North Fort Myers motel shot and killed one man and
critically injured another when they forced their way into his room
Saturday morning to rob him and his daughter, authorities said. Steven D. Robey, 46, who was pinned to his bed with a gun to his head, reached under his pillow for his .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol and shot both men to save his and his daughter’s lives.
The suspects shot in the 9:44 a.m. attempted robbery at Howard Johnson, 13000 N. Cleveland Ave., are thought to be responsible for a string of armed robberies at Southwest Florida hotels since Aug. 12, said Lee sheriff’s Capt. Richard Chard. Robey was treated at the hotel for bite wounds to his finger, a swollen foot and minor injuries to his neck, according to a sheriff’s office report. His daughter, Sarina Robey, 16, was not injured, Chard said. Phillip C. Nelson, 42, of 2145 Barker Blvd. died at Lee Memorial Hospital, where he was taken after being shot.
Ernest Major, 22, who moved to Lee County from West Palm Beach last month, suffered gunshot wounds to his abdomen, arm and leg, Chard said. He was listed in critical but stable condition Saturday night at Lee Memorial Hospital. Although he remains in the hospital, deputies arrested him on charges of attempted murder, attempted robbery and felony murder, a charge that can be imposed when somebody dies while in the commission of a crime, said Lee Lt. Richard Dobson.
Detectives did not charge Robey with a crime, though the investigation is ongoing. Robey has a license to carry a concealed weapon, records show. Dobson said the state attorney’s office will look into the shooting and determine whether it was justified. Chard said the initial investigation shows Robey was in fear of his life and was defending himself. “A gun was pointed at his head and a man was taking his daughter in the bathroom,” Chard said. “I feel I would have responded in the same way.”
Robey declined to talk to the media, fearing retribution from the suspect. The Robeys moved to New Smyrna Beach from Cape Coral last year, but decided to move back. They were staying in North Fort Myers while house hunting, said Kim Swanson, a spokeswoman for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators spent Saturday interviewing Robey and his daughter to determine what happened.
Early Saturday, his daughter still sleeping, Robey ordered room service. When it didn’t come immediately he headed to the hotel’s office for a danish and coffee. “They were most likely waiting for a victim, and saw him walk back to his room,” Dobson said. A few minutes after he got back to the room, there was a knock at the door. Instead of a hotel employee with breakfast, Nelson was standing there and asked for money, with Major standing off to the side, according to a report.
Investigators said when Robey refused and tried to shut the door, the men pushed their way into the room. Nelson forced Robey onto the bed holding a gun to his head. At the same time, Major grabbed Robey’s daughter and dragged her into the bathroom. Investigators said that’s when Robey reached for his loaded semi-automatic pistol he had hidden under his pillow, quickly loading a round into the chamber.
Robey turned and fired at Nelson who still held the gun to his head, hitting him several times. Detectives did not discuss the wounds, citing the ongoing investigation. Then he turned to Major, who was holding his daughter, and emptied the gun at him. Detectives think Major fired back with a small-caliber handgun at some point, although he did not hit Robey.
“He was in fear for his life, and his daughter’s,” Chard said.
One of the bullets pierced the wall into another unoccupied room.
Major ran off, as Nelson struggled with Robey, hitting and kicking him, before falling to the floor, dying. As her father struggled with the attacker, Sarina Robey ran to the front desk, where a clerk called 911. “She was pretty hysterical,” said Megan Geers, 21, who was staying in the hotel with a wedding party. “She was crying a lot. I didn’t know what to think.”
Alan Wirshborn, the motel’s general manager, said nothing like this has happened at the motel since it opened in 1985. He said the motel was working with authorities, but declined to comment further. A few minutes later a second call came into the sheriff’s office reporting Major was outside 2145 Barker Blvd. severely injured by gunshots.
Major spoke briefly to detectives before paramedics took him to the hospital, Dobson said. Both men have previously served time in prison on theft convictions, according to Florida Department of Corrections records.
Nelson was last released from prison in July 2000. He’s served three prison terms on Lee County convictions of grand theft and carrying a concealed firearm, the records show. Major was released from prison in July 2001 after serving a two-year sentence in Palm Beach robbery and grand theft convictions, the records show.
Robey has never been arrested, said Dobson, who did a national crime background check on him. Nelson’s death marks the 28th homicide in Lee County this year. Last year 23 people died in homicides in Lee. Investigators say the suspects may be the same men responsible for a trio of armed robberies at hotels along U.S. 41 and another one last weekend in Charlotte County. The descriptions of the suspects are similar as is how the suspects’ went about robbing the victims, Dobson said.
