Mark Robinson

Introduction

Mark Lynn Robinson is a 69-year-old Ocala, Florida, homeowner who rented rooms to two elderly men — and he is not the former North Carolina lieutenant governor or the British mathematics teacher who share his name elsewhere on this site. According to Ocala police, on October 28, 2026, Robinson used a shotgun to fatally shoot both of his roommates and tenants, Charles Etheze, 69, and Michael Menkes, 78, inside and just outside the house he co-owns on Southeast 8th Street, in a dispute detectives said began over ice cream. He surrendered the same night, admitted to the shooting, claimed one of the men had charged at him with a knife, and now faces one count of second-degree murder while detectives weigh whether his self-defense account holds.

Background Information

Per the arrest report and county records cited by the Ocala Gazette, the home at 1028 SE 8th St. was co-owned by Robinson, and both victims lived there as renters. The arrangement was strained long before the shooting: Robinson told detectives he had been having ongoing problems with Etheze, who he said caused disturbances at the home and failed to pay his rent, and who had contacted law enforcement several times in the weeks before the killings. Police said they had been called to the home three times in 2026 over disturbances involving Robinson, his roommates, or his neighbors. Robinson also acknowledged to investigators that he had been drinking before the shooting — roughly a bottle and a half of white wine, according to the arrest affidavit.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not convicted. On Oct. 28, 2026, Ocala police say Robinson shot his two elderly roommates with a Benelli 12-gauge shotgun — one inside the home, the other in the back in the front yard as he fled toward the gate — about 90 minutes after officers had calmed an argument among the three men over ice cream. He was arrested on one count of second-degree murder the same night, admitted the shooting, and claims self-defense; detectives say that claim and a possible second murder charge remain under investigation.

The afternoon began routinely. Around 4:16 p.m., Ocala officers responded to a 911 report of a verbal disturbance among the three men and found no criminal offense — just an argument over, in the police chief’s words, “eating someone else’s ice cream.” Officers defused the situation, and Etheze and Menkes left the house for a walk Robinson described as part of their normal routine.

According to the arrest affidavit, once the two men were gone Robinson retrieved his Benelli 12 shotgun, telling investigators he feared “something bad was going to happen.” When Etheze and Menkes returned, Robinson said they called themselves “the ice cream bandits” and “rushed him,” leaving him feeling “threatened” as he sat on the couch with the shotgun beside him. He told police Etheze approached first holding a knife; he fired one round, and when Etheze fell but tried to get back up, Robinson said he stood and fired a second shot. Menkes made it out the front door and was headed toward the gate when Robinson shot him in the back, explaining to detectives that he believed Menkes was going to come after him, the affidavit states.

Officers responding to the 5:30 p.m. shooting call found Menkes, 78, in the front yard and began lifesaving measures; he was rushed to a hospital in trauma-alert condition and died there. Etheze, 69, was pronounced dead inside the home. Robinson met officers at the house, was driven to Ocala police headquarters, read his rights, and interviewed; police said he surrendered and admitted shooting both men, and cited inconsistencies in his account — and the fact that one victim was shot in the back while leaving the residence — as what precipitated the murder charge.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken laid out the case at a press conference the next day. “It’s a ridiculous situation,” he said. “In the end, I have a very young officer trying to calm three 60- to 70-year-old men down over ice cream,” he told reporters. “It’s a ridiculous situation to happen anywhere, much less in Ocala.” He described the trio’s “Golden Girls”-style living arrangement as “dysfunctional” and characterized Robinson as “an angry old man that had some alcohol problems and could get nasty with not only his neighbors but his tenants as well.”

On the self-defense claim, Balken said: “We’re looking at the self-defense notion that he’s put forward, but we’ve got a lot more work to do in examining the evidence and more interviews to do before we dive into that,” adding that “additional charges are possible as our investigators continue their work.” The chief noted the shooting was at least the latest violent incident within blocks of the area near Southeast 11th Avenue but called the cases “isolated” and “unrelated,” and said more patrol cars would be assigned to the neighborhood. Robinson was booked into the Marion County Jail overnight; no bond had been set as of WCJB’s report.

Current Status

Robinson, 69, remains in custody at the Marion County Jail and is due in court on Dec. 1. He has been charged with one count of second-degree murder in connection with the death of Menkes, the roommate shot in the front yard; detectives are still determining whether additional charges are warranted for Etheze’s death. His self-defense claim has not been resolved, and the investigation remains active. No plea has been reported and no attorney information has been made public. He stands formally charged, not convicted — and the account above, including the “ice cream bandits” exchange and the knife claim, rests on his own statements to detectives as recorded in the arrest affidavit.

Impact on Their Career/Life

At 69, a landlord whose final years revolved around a trouble-plagued rooming house now faces a second-degree murder prosecution, with two of his tenants dead and his self-defense account — undercut, per police, by a victim shot in the back as he tried to leave — set to be tested in court. The case drew national attention a week after the killings, when the New York Post catalogued its absurd origin: a fight over ice cream that ended with two men dead and a third charged with murder. For the Southeast 8th Street neighborhood, the immediate legacy is a heavier police presence that the chief said would continue as detectives finish their work.

Sources

New York Post, “Florida man, 69, kills his two roommates during fight over ice cream: cops,” November 4, 2026. source
WCJB, “69-year-old man kills 2 roommates after argument over ice cream, Ocala PD chief says,” October 29, 2026. source
Ocala Gazette, “Second-degree murder charge levied in SE Ocala shooting,” October 29, 2026. source
FOX 35 Orlando, “Florida man shoots and kills roommates over arguments about ice-cream, police say,” October 29, 2026. source
WFTV, “‘Ice cream bandits’: Ocala man arrested for double homicide after killing his roommates, police say,” October 29, 2026. source
352today, “(UPDATE: Suspect charged) Shooting in southeast Ocala leaves 2 dead, 1 in custody,” October 29, 2026. source