John Jefferson
Left: Ronald Davis (Orange County Jail). Right: Police in Orlando, Florida, arrest Davis after he allegedly forced his way inside an elderly woman’s home and beat her (Orlando Police Department).
It didn’t take long for Florida police to figure out who brutally beat a pastor’s wife after forcing his way into her home: the suspect, released from prison just eight months ago, left his wallet behind, cops say.
The victim’s husband called the Orlando Police Department around 1:30 p.m. Saturday to report a break-in at his home in the 2300 block of Caribbean Court after he found his 85-year-old wife suffering from serious head wounds along with jewelry and other items missing from his home. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, police found the wallet of 55-year-old Ronald Dwayne Davis in the home. Per cops, Davis walked out of a Florida prison in June after serving 15 years for burglary, false imprisonment and other charges.
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It apparently didn’t take long to allegedly return to his life of crime. Before doctors induced her into a coma, the victim relayed her version of events to detectives. She said she was preparing to leave for a hair appointment when she heard a knock on the door between 10:30 and 11 a.m. She thought someone may be in trouble, so she answered the door, the affidavit said.
The man, later identified as Davis, claimed to be a community service officer and needed to check her residence, the affidavit said. She asked him for some identification and he pulled out the aforementioned wallet with his ID. He then allegedly forced his way inside her home and started attacking her, dropping the wallet in the process. She tried to fight back, but was rendered unconscious. Police would later find a crystal candy jar with her hair on it, suggesting that Davis may have beat her with it, cops noted.
When she woke up, the victim was bleeding from her head and her ribs and back were hurting, per the affidavit. She couldn’t find her phone so she crawled to her garage where she honked the horn on her car for some 15 minutes in hopes someone would come help. After no one came, she went to lay on the couch where her husband found her a couple hours later. Paramedics rushed her to the hospital where doctors induced her into a coma “with the high likelihood of not surviving,” cops wrote.
A search of the home revealed several items of jewelry were missing, according to police. Armed with Davis’ wallet, cops went to the suspect’s home. He was apparently living in a shed on the home’s property with his girlfriend. Detectives went to the shed where Davis initially gave his middle name, the affidavit said. When he opened the door, they positively identified Davis. Cops asked for his ID but he allegedly claimed he had lost it along with his wallet a few weeks prior. His girlfriend also came to the door and detectives reportedly noticed she was wearing “several unique pieces of jewelry and rings.” She allegedly later told officers that Davis had just given her the items.
Cops also found more jewelry and coins, along with a bloodied shirt inside the shed, according to the affidavit. Davis was arrested on charges of home invasion robbery with a weapon, aggravated battery on person 65 or older with great bodily harm and aggravated battery with a weapon. He’s in the Orange County Jail without bond. He has a court hearing scheduled for Friday.
In a motion for pretrial detention filed Monday, prosecutors say that the victim’s death from her injuries is “imminent.”
The victim’s husband is a pastor at First Baptist Church of Orlando, local CBS affiliate WKMG reports.
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