Gainesville police arrested three men Thursday on suspicion of targeting the stores and homes of minorities across two counties during violent robberies and home invasions.
Jeremiah Gibson, a 21-year-old Jasper resident, was arrested alongside 23-year-old Lake City resident Calvin Souter and 24-year-old Live Oak resident Demoundre Evans for committing crimes across Alachua and Suwannee Counties, including multiple burglaries, two attempted home invasions and a home invasion, according to the arrest report.
Pratikkumar Patel, a Chevron employee, was closing the gas station Jan. 15 at around 11 p.m. when he was confronted by Gibson, Souter and Evans wearing dark clothing and masks. They punched Patel in the face and knocked him unconscious with a gun, causing a large head laceration that required hospitalization, according to the arrest report.
The men stole a total of approximately $7,000 from the store along with Patel’s wallet, which contained $520, charge cards and identification.
Patel closed the gas station again the evening of Jan. 25 and drove home. A group of men later knocked on his door announcing themselves as law enforcement, but Patel didn’t answer. Upon checking his home’s video surveillance, he discovered the same three men clad in black from the incident ten days earlier.
A license plate reader near the Chevron captured both Patel’s car and the white 2013 Kia Optima with a black top that followed him home, which was registered under Gibson’s girlfriend, according to the arrest report.
Hours after attempting to enter Patel’s home, the men followed Aminul Islam and Ataur Sojol, the owners of a Gainesville Food Max, to their home.
As they arrived home, Islam was shoved to the ground as a masked man pressed a gun to his head and said, “If you move, I will shoot you.” The two other masked men found Islam’s wife and threatened to kill their daughter if they didn’t comply during the robbery, according to the arrest report.
Gibson, Souter and Evans stole the $10,000 Food Max deposit, $2,000 from the victims, a wallet and a cellphone.
Islam and Sojol said three masked men entered their store Jan. 15 without enough money to complete a purchase around 11 p.m., minutes before their first encounter with Patel.
Gibson, Souter and Evans returned to Patel’s home Jan. 30, shooting at the residence after an unsuccessful attempt to break in.
The men stole lottery tickets from an unspecified store in Suwannee County the following day and cashed them out across several locations.
On February 3, their Kia Optima was found at the location of an armed robbery of a Live Oak convenience store. Following a police chase by the Lake City Police Department and Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the suspects crashed their car and ran on foot. Souter and Evans briefly escaped, but Gibson was immediately taken into custody.
Gibson was charged with racketeering.
Gibson’s dropped charges include aggravated battery, eight counts of home invasion robbery with a firearm, firing a missile into a dwelling, robbery with a firearm, six counts of kidnapping and intimidating a witness.
Souter was charged with racketeering, two counts of armed home invasion, two counts of armed burglary of a dwelling and kidnapping.
Souter’s dropped charges include an additional seven counts of armed home invasion, five counts of kidnapping, armed robbery, aggravated battery and intimidating a witness.
As of now, Evans has been charged with six counts of kidnapping, six counts of armed home invasion and intimidating a witness.
Sojol declined to comment. Patel and Islam could not be reached.
Contact Lee Ann Anderson at landerson@alligator.org. Follow her on X @LeeAnnJOU
Lee Ann Anderson is a sophomore journalism major and The Alligator’s Summer 2023 criminal justice reporter. In her free time you can catch her reading articles, talking to her cat or losing her mind.
