Strip mall casino patron shoots would-be robbers multiple times

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — An elderly patron at a strip mall casino in Marion County shot two men who attempted to rob the place, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

According to investigators, two men burst into the Palms Internet Cafe on State Road 200 in Ocala on Friday afternoon.

A sheriff's report said that one of the men was carrying a baseball bat, the other had a gun.

Surveillance video from the casino shows one of the men destroying a computer terminal with the bat and the second man pointing the handgun around the room.

After one of the men yelled, telling the patrons not to move, the video shows patron Samuel Williams approach the armed suspect and start shooting.

Investigators said Smith struck DuWayne Henderson, 19, of Ocala three times, twice in the buttocks and once in the arm. Davis Dawkins, 19, was struck in the upper chest.

The men then fled the building, leaving a trail of blood behind.

According to the sheriff's report, investigators later received information that two men were transported from the Marion Oaks area to Shands hospital in Gainesville with gunshot wounds.

Deputies arrested Dawkins and Henderson. Both are charged with attempted robbery with a firearm and felony criminal mischief.

According to investigators, Dawkins claimed to be the one with the bat, and he identified Henderson as the one with the gun.

The sheriff's report said Dawkins claimed to be a former employee of the strip mall casino, and that he said he was forced to participate in the robbery attempt.

Williams told police he was with his wife and was scared the men were going to shoot someone.

Dawkins has bonded out of jail, but Henderson remains in the Marion County Jail.

State legislators failed again this year to ban strip mall casinos, which many in law enforcement say attract such robberies.

WFTV