Two men were convicted for violently holding a Central Florida family at gunpoint in a home invasion robbery in Pine Hills in Orange County. The two violent criminals threatened to kill one female victim and her ninth-month-old baby, and caused permanent brain damage for a male victim who had massive head trauma.
An Orange County jury found two men, 36-year-old Broderick Thomas and 27-year-old Davonte McRae, guilty of several charges after they invaded a family’s home and held five innocent people at gunpoint.
The two men were convicted on two counts of Home Invasion Robbery, three counts of Burglary of a Dwelling with Assault/Battery with a Firearm, one count of Attempted Felony Murder (McRae only) and one count of Aggravated Battery (Great Bodily Harm with a Firearm) (McRae only).
On September 15, 2021, Thomas and McRae, forcefully entered a home in the Pine Hills neighborhood armed with firearms, intent on finding money and marijuana. Once inside, they forced all occupants into the kitchen and repeatedly demanded the whereabouts of guns or cash while threatening them with their firearms. They also threatened to kill one female victim and her ninth-month-old baby who was also at the home.
McRae used physical violence, striking two victims with his firearm and nearly killing one of them. One male victim received massive head trauma and will have permanent brain damage for the rest of his life after McRae used a firearm to repeatedly strike him in the head after observing him using a cell phone.
As additional family members responded to the commotion in the kitchen or returned home, one of the assailants would force them at gunpoint to join the others in the kitchen. None of the occupants who were home at the time had any association with drugs or firearms. One resident, who was not home during the home invasion, later told law enforcement he was a garbage truck driver who sold marijuana on the side.
The altercation was a highly violent and coordinated act. In addition to being armed with firearms, both defendants used walkie-talkies to communicate with one another and had a getaway driver waiting outside.
Video surveillance in the area led Orange County Sheriff’s deputies to identify the suspects’ vehicle. Deputies tracked one of the victims’ stolen iPhones to a home in Carver Shores where they located the suspects’ vehicle. Deputies found Thomas at that location and took im into custody. McRae was arrested five months later.
A total of 27 witnesses were called during the trial. After the six-day trial, a jury found McRae and Thomas guilty of two counts of Home Invasion Robbery (with a Firearm) and three counts of Burglary of a Dwelling with Assault/Battery with a Firearm. McRae was also found guilty of Attempted Felony Murder with a Firearm and Aggravated Battery (Great Bodily Harm with a Firearm).
Both defendants will be sentenced on May 8th. McRae is eligible for a firearm minimum mandatory. Thomas is eligible for the firearm minimum mandatory, habitual felony offender and habitual violent felony offender.
A prosecutor in State Attorney Andrew Bain’s Violent Crimes Unit prosecuted this case.
