BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A former Brevard County Sheriff’s Office corrections deputy held a naked man at gunpoint, filmed him for hours, forced him to sign a $30,000 contract, and threatened to send incriminating video to his family and church, an investigative report said.
Amony Robillard, 30, of St. Cloud was arrested Nov. 27 on charges of robbery with a firearm, extortion with a weapon and false imprisonment with a weapon, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
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Robbery with a firearm is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison.
Robillard has entered a written plea of not guilty, and he remains jailed without bond in Orange County. A pretrial conference is scheduled for April 26, with a projected May 9 trial date, clerk of courts records show. Robillard’s attorney is Phillip Arroyo of Orlando. Contacted by FLORIDA TODAY, Arroyo said he does not comment on active cases he is handling.
Robillard started working for BCSO in March 2020. He is also a member of the Army National Guard.
“I am disgusted by the alleged actions of this individual that have resulted in his arrest, and as such, I have directed my staff to facilitate his termination from our agency!!” Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a news release the day of Robillard’s arrest.
“As everyone knows, I am extremely proud of the amazing men and women of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office who work hard every day to bring honor to our badge!! An incident of this nature is absolutely unacceptable to me and I can assure you that our team will be doing everything possible to assist and support the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in their investigation, so that justice can be served!!” Ivey said in the news release.
Messages seeking comment and additional information were left for sheriff’s spokesman Tod Goodyear.
The armed robbery took place Nov. 19 at an Airbnb rental home on Skyview Drive in Orlando, just north of The Florida Mall, according to a 54-page Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigative report.
[RELATED: Brevard sheriff’s corrections deputy accused of armed robbery, extortion]
A 34-year-old Kissimmee man arrived at the home to have sexual relations with a 19-year-old Orlando woman — but after he exited the shower, Robillard emerged from behind a curtain, pointed two semiautomatic pistols at him, and held him captive for about three hours, the report said.
Robillard ordered the man to sign a contract saying he agreed to pay Robillard $30,000, and he even arranged for a notary and the victim’s wife to come to the home, the report said. Robillard also took about $200 in cash and $450 from a cash app from the man.
The man told Orange County investigators that he and Robillard had been friends for about a year, and that he had given poor cryptocurrency investment advice that led to Robillard losing $2,000 when the company “tanked.”
Robillard was arrested at his St. Cloud home. During a search of his home office, Orange County investigators found an Army-style backpack. Inside was a $30,000 draft contract with the man and man’s wife’s names on it, the report said.
Videos on Robillard’s personal cell phone showed him pointing a gun at the man, who was sitting on a bed naked, the report said. Robillard also threatened the man’s life multiple times.
“At one point, Amony tells (the man) that he plans on killing him, cutting up his body, putting it in a garbage bag, and throwing it in the ocean for the sharks to eat,” the report said.
The 19-year-old Orlando woman, Jerise Richer, worked in tandem with Robillard to lure the man to the home, the report said. She was arrested Dec. 8 on charges of robbery with a firearm and conspiracy to commit extortion, and she has pleaded not guilty.