Clay Today staff
GREEN COVE SPRINGS -- A Green Cove Springs man is accused of robbing his next door neighbors at gunpoint Feb. 4 while attempting to conceal his identity with a mask.
One of the victims, John Mauer, 29, was watching television around 12:30 a.m. when a man came through the unlocked front door armed with a handgun and wearing a mask, gloves and a hooded sweatshirt, according to a Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
The gunman ordered Mauer to a bedroom where his sister, Denise Brown, 57, was located and demanded money from them. When the victims called the gunman by name after recognizing his voice, he became angry and fired a shot from the 9mm handgun into the ceiling, the report says.
He threatened them again but then left the home through the rear door. Three children were in the home at the time of the robbery, the report says.
The victims later told Green Cove Springs police officers who investigated the incident that they recognized the gunman’s voice, in part because of his strong Hispanic accent, and had at one time been friends with him and his wife until a falling out that led to an on-going feud, the report says.
Davis "David" Muniz, 38, is charged with attempted home invasion robbery, aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the report says.
Police recovered a 9mm handgun and ammunition in Muniz' home after obtaining a search warrant. They also found fresh tracks leading to his home from the victims' home, the report says.
