Skip to content
1 min left · finish 3:20 AM
Email
GCCURRENT
Vero Beach Current
Gator CurrentVero Beach — Treasure Coast living
Good evening, Columbus☀️63°F · Clear
CommunityReal EstateArtsMore categoriesSchoolsBusinessGovernmentSportsTechnologyDiningHealthSearchSaved

Advertisement · Why this ad?

  1. Home
  2. /Business
  3. /Ocala roommates shot to death after dispute over eaten ice cream, police say
Business

Ocala roommates shot to death after dispute over eaten ice cream, police say

Marcus Chen
Marcus Chen
Marcus Chen
Managing Editor · St. Paul, MN

Marcus manages the day-to-day editorial workflow across all brands, coordinating coverage assignments and ensuring editorial standards are met. He previously served as city editor at the Pioneer Press and holds a degree in Political Science from Carleton College.

More from Marcus →
Managing Editor · Friday, October 30, 2026 at 12:20 AM · 1 min read
Text size
Typeface
Line spacing
Theme
Focus mode
Email
Ocala roommates shot to death after dispute over eaten ice cream, police say  — Vero Beach Business news

Ocala Police say a fight over ice cream ended in a double homicide Wednesday evening. Investigators arrested 69-year-old Mark Robinson after police say he admitted to fatally shooting his roommates, Charles Etheze, 69, and Michael Menkes, 78.The shooting occurred in the 1000 block of Southeast 8th Street in downtown Ocala.According to a police report, the suspect admitted to drinking a bottle and a half of white wine before the shooting. “This was what I would call a dysfunctional living arrangement,” said Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken, ”It’s clear that the homeowner quite frankly was an angry old man that had some alcohol problems.” According to Balken, Robinson rented rooms to both victims.Police said officers had been called to the home three other times, including about an hour before the shooting, when a dispute broke out over the roommates eating Robinson’s ice cream.“In the end, I have a very young officer trying to calm three 60- and 70-year-old men down over ice cream,” Balke

#public-safety#weather

Also covering Florida

WestonPembroke PinesCoconut CreekJupiterDelray Beach
GCCURRENT

Vero Beach Current

Part of the Gator Current Network

Vero Beach — Treasure Coast living. Hyper-local community news covering 40 Florida cities.

Sections

CommunityReal EstateArtsSchoolsBusinessGovernment

Latest Stories

Asian trading is mixed as worries about AI-related issues growBody camera, drone video captures officers rescuing dolphin stuck in Biscayne BayWinter Park may review league's use of city fields after soccer incident involving 3-year-oldClearwater Beach Bar reopens two years after back-to-back hurricanes in 2024Jacksonville woman claims rights violated after being removed from city meeting for political shirt

About

Gator Current publishes independent community news across Florida. Local reporters. Non-partisan. Community-first.

RSS FeedNetwork Directory

© 2026 Gator Current — gatorcurrent.com

PrivacyTerms

A product of Edina Automation LLC

You're offline — showing the last loaded page
HomeSearchSaved