The last thing two elderly Florida men did before they died was joke about stealing ice cream.
That’s when their landlord picked up his 12-gauge shotgun.
And this Florida man made a decision over ice cream that will follow him the rest of his life.
The Day the Ice Cream Went Missing in Ocala
Robinson, 69, owns a home in Ocala, Florida, where he rented rooms to Charles Etheze, 69, and Michael Menkes, 78.
Somebody ate Robinson’s ice cream.
According to Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken, officers were dispatched to the home after Robinson called to report the theft of his dessert.
“I have a very young officer trying to calm three 60, 70-year-old men down over ice cream,” Balken said at a press conference. “It’s a ridiculous situation to happen.”
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Police arrived, calmed things down, and left – believing peace had been restored.
Etheze and Menkes then went for a walk, which Robinson told investigators was part of their normal routine.
But Robinson told police something else too.
He admitted that while they were gone, he went and got his Benelli 12-gauge shotgun and brought it into the living room – because he “felt like there was going to be trouble.”
They Called Themselves the Ice Cream Bandits
When the two men returned from their walk, they made a comment referring to themselves as the “ice cream bandits.”
That was the last joke they ever told.
Robinson claimed Etheze rushed toward him with a knife.
He fired once, hitting Etheze.
Etheze tried to get back up.
Robinson followed him into the hallway and fired again.
Menkes ran for the front door.
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Robinson shot him in the back as he reached the front gate.
When investigators asked why he fired at a man who was clearly fleeing, Robinson claimed he believed Menkes was going to “come after him.”
Balken was not buying it.
“It’s clear that the homeowner, quite frankly, was an angry old man that had some alcohol problems and could get nasty with not only his neighbors but his tenants as well,” Balken said.
Robinson had consumed a bottle and a half of wine before the shooting.
Police had been called to the home three other times this year – not counting the ice cream call.
Why the Self-Defense Claim Is Already in Trouble
Robinson is currently charged with one count of second-degree murder – specifically for the shooting of Menkes.
He has claimed self-defense across the board.
Here is why that claim is going to be an uphill battle.
Under Florida law, the initial aggressor in a confrontation cannot claim self-defense immunity.
Robinson armed himself with a shotgun and waited for his roommates to return – before they had done anything.
Florida courts have denied Stand Your Ground immunity in cases where a victim was shot in the back while fleeing, with Spires v. State being the controlling precedent.
Menkes was shot while running away and had already cleared the front door when Robinson pulled the trigger – a fact Robinson himself confirmed to investigators.
That is not self-defense under any reasonable interpretation of Florida law.
Balken confirmed police are still investigating the first shooting – the one Robinson claimed was provoked by a knife – but the second shooting already earned Robinson his murder charge.
Additional charges are possible.
This Is What Biden’s Economy Did to Your Parents’ Generation
Robinson is due in court December 1.
He reportedly refused to sign the judge’s findings at his initial hearing.
And yet the strangest part of this story is not the shotgun, the ice cream, or the self-defense claim.
It is that three men in their late sixties and seventies were crammed into a house together in the first place.
Biden’s inflation didn’t just raise grocery prices.
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It destroyed the financial independence of an entire generation of seniors who had already paid their dues, raised their kids, and expected to live out their years with some dignity.
Average senior housing costs hit $5,479 per month by the end of 2025 – up 28% from 2020.
The number of Americans over 65 seeking roommates has more than tripled in the last decade.
Sixty-two percent of senior renters are now spending more than 30% of their income on housing – many spending over half.
That is what forces a 69-year-old man into a rented room in someone else’s house.
That is what turns what Balken called a “dysfunctional living arrangement” into a crime scene.
But the real dysfunction started four years before Robinson ever loaded that Benelli – when Washington decided seniors could absorb the cost of everything Democrats broke.
Sources:
- Ocala Police Department, Press Conference Statement by Chief Mike Balken, October 29, 2026.
- Emily Ching, “Florida man shoots and kills roommates over arguments about ice cream, police say,” Fox 35 Orlando, October 29, 2026.
- WFTV Staff, “Ocala roommates shot to death after dispute over eaten ice cream, police say,” WFTV, October 29, 2026.
- Natalie O’Neill, “Florida man, 69, allegedly kills his two roommates during fight over ice cream,” New York Post, November 4, 2026.
- “US Senior Housing Crisis Lures Billions Amid Soaring Demand,” CRE Daily, 2026.
- “Seniors Seeking Roommates Triples as Housing Costs Hit Record Highs,” SpareRoom/Ground News, 2025.
