Two men accused in a violent Venice home invasion entered not guilty pleas Monday in Sarasota County and asked for a jury trial. Justin Anthony Mitchell and Brevaun Williams, both 34, are charged in connection with the September 23 break-in, where police say a homeowner was tied up with zip ties, Tased when she couldn’t open a large safe, and pepper-sprayed as the suspects fled. A shot fired at a relative punched through a closet door and lodged in a water heater, missing him by a narrow margin.
According to arrest affidavits, the homeowner woke to a security alert, grabbed her revolver, and locked herself in a bathroom before the intruders forced their way inside, demanding cash and gold. Williams reportedly told detectives the pair targeted the home after being told valuables were kept there, which is why Venice police have called the invasion targeted rather than random. The suspects took the homeowner’s revolver before leaving.
Williams has a bond hearing scheduled for Friday, and both defendants are due back in court on October 30. Meanwhile, Venice police say they are still searching for a possible getaway driver, and anyone with information is urged to come forward. For Suncoast residents, the case raises hard questions about home security, self-defense, and how much information about what’s inside our homes should be shared, and with whom.
What would you do if your alarm went off at 3 a.m. and someone was already inside?
