14 DAY TRIAL // A bouncer from Florida will be facing charges of murder in the first-degree after fatally shooting three men over a prank.
The Ocala StarBanner details that 31-year-old Andrew Joseph Lobban became angry after a joke during practice shooting at a target range with his co-workers.
They had set him, rigging his gun and forcing it to misfire. They then caught him on tape trying to get the firearm to function. The video was passed around at their workplace.
"He just kept harping on that. [...] It really bothered him," Sgt. Angy Scroble explained speaking of his reaction during the police interrogation.
The suspect and the victims went to the AJ’s bar on Saturday night, and he killed them in front of the bar. They all incurred gunshot wounds to the head, police reports say.
The men worked as bouncers at the Ocala Entertainment Complex, managed by Bobby Tillander. He describes them as close, but mentions that Lobban has always been the quiet type.
"These guys all hung out on a regular basis. I'm surprised.
"If he said 10 words to you during his shift, he said a lot," Tillander recalls.
Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn described the killing as senseless, dubbing the motive behind it as "ridiculous."
"I think it's very random, and I'm saddened by it. [...] It's senseless that three people lost their lives. It’s a sad situation," he says.
The victims have been identified as 23-year-old Benjamin Larz Howard, of Belleview and Ocala residents Jerry Bynes Jr, 20 and Josue Santiago, 25.
"He was a joker, always had a smile, very outgoing, friendly and was a leader," mother Maria Santiago says of son Josue.
"He was a gentle giant, a great son, a provider and a good father to his family," she adds, speaking about the father-of-two.
Dawn Acosta Romaine mentioned that Bynes had ambitions of becoming an MMA fighter.
"He was a good kid, liked to laugh and joke. He wanted everyone to be happy," she remembers.