Two Bainbridge have been charged with allegedly trying to rob the innkeepers of a Bainbridge motel at gunpoint, according to investigators with the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office.
At approximately 4:15 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, Sheriff’s deputies responded to the Palmer Motel on Tallahassee Highway in Bainbridge in reference to a 911 report of an attempted armed robbery.
The innkeepers, a husband and wife, told Sheriff’s deputies that two men demanded money from them and refused to let them leave unless they did so, according to Jason Williams, an investigator with the Career Criminals Unit of the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office. One of the two men allegedly pointed a gun at the innkeeper as he demanded money.
Deputies talked with a man standing outside the motel’s main building–which is separated between the innkeepers’ residence and an office area. That man, later identified as 41-year-old Israel Milline, 41, of Bainbridge, stated that another man whom he did not know had pulled a gun on him.
“[Milline] was claiming he was a victim, but something about his story just didn’t add up,” Investigator Williams said.
According to the innkeepers’ statements, Milline came into the main building of the motel, making noise to wake up the innkeepers at around 4:15 a.m. Milline, who had only checked in a few hours before according to deputies, said he was unhappy with his room and demanded a refund of his money. The innkeepers declined to give him a refund and Milline then grew irate and allegedly shoved the male innkeeper while continuing to demand his money.
Milline left the motel’s office but a few minutes later, the innkeepers heard loud noises and found Milline and a second man arguing under a breezeway. The male innkeeper went outside to break up the argument and ask them to stop making noise. Milline resumed asking for a refund and the second man joined in, pointing a handgun at the innkeeper and saying something to the effect of, “Yeah, you got to give him his money back.”
The 2nd man had left the scene by the time deputies arrived, but was seen leaving the motel in a silver SUV.
On Friday afternoon, Bainbridge Public Safety officer Jessica Richardson responded to a report of a man allegedly mugging pedestrians at gunpoint in central Bainbridge. The offender was also seen leaving in a silver SUV.
“I was told they were unable to make an arrest in the robberies that happened in the city limits due to inconsistencies in witness statements,” Williams said. “However, the information that Officer Richardson was able to gather proved valuable in finding one of the suspects in the motel incident.”
Sheriff’s Investigator Williams looked into the SUV further and by Monday, Oct. 26, he had come to believe the SUV in both cases was driven by Shaun Malik Miller, 20, of Bainbridge.
Miller was brought in to the Sheriff’s Office and gave statements that were similar to what the innkeepers said happened, according to Williams. In addition, Sheriff’s deputies now believe that Miller had been partying with Milline in his motel room in the couple of hours leading up to the incident with the innkeepers.
Shaun Malik Miller of Bainbridge is charged with two counts of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of false imprisonment.
Israel Milline of Bainbridge is charged with two counts of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of false imprisonment.
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