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San Carlos Park convenience store clerk shot in the head during robbery dies

By JOHN HENDERSON , ELIZABETH WRIGHT (Contact)
Originally published 10:58 a.m., Friday, August 31, 2007
Updated 9:11 p.m., Friday, August 31, 2007

STORY TOOLS

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YouTube motion: Lawyers ask for surveillance tape to be sealed in fatal shooting

Kind and hard-working. Eager to help and protect others.

Provided by the Lee County Sheriff's Office

Gerald Rabon

That’s how many described Gerald Rabon, a young Fort Myers man who was shot in the head during an armed robbery in San Carlos Park last weekend.

Rabon, 20, died from his injuries early Friday morning.

Now, the two suspects in the robbery, Iris and Chad Moreland, face first-degree murder charges.

Rabon, who went by Gerry, had aspired to a career in law enforcement, or possibly the Coast Guard.

Since graduating from Cypress Lake High School in 2006, he had continued to train with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Explorers while working a string of jobs.

He fixed computers. He worked as a security agent at the airport. The night of the robbery, he was two weeks into a new job as a convenience store clerk at the Pic N Run on Alico Road.

It wasn’t work he particularly liked, said Bonnie Foster, a neighbor and family friend.

Clerk in critical condition after San Carlos Park robbery shooting, 2 arrested

But she noted that when Rabon was shot, he had apparently been trying to protect a female co-worker, just as she had seen him protect others before.

“I guess it was just him doing a good deed. He was trying to be a man,” she said.

Neighbors in The Grove neighborhood of Fort Myers where Rabon lived had little sympathy for anyone who took his life.

They remembered Rabon as someone who had been honored in Lee County’s “Do The Right Thing” program for a call to 911 when his father, Cleveland, went into a diabetic coma.

Chad Moreland

Iris Moreland

They remembered how, after Hurricane Charley in 2004, Rabon and another neighborhood friend had helped out by cleaning storm drains.

Dennis Bird, who lives a block away from the Rabon’s family’s Blackbird Lane home, said those responsible for Rabon’s death need to pay.

“We’re not hard enough on criminals,’’ Bird said. The shooter, he said, “ought to fry.’’

Rabon’s death comes only months after his father, Cleveland, died, and it has been very difficult for Rabon’s mother, Gail, said Nancy Fales, a neighbor.

Gerald’s 10-year-old brother, Jackie, seems to be in a state of shock over the shooting, Fales said.

“He was walking around like this,” she said, drooping her head to illustrate the boy’s body language. “It’s like, he didn’t know what to make of it.”

Cypress Lake High School Principal Tracy Perkins will remember one of her school’s recent graduates for his smile and for his dedication.

She often saw Rabon around campus wearing his Sheriff’s Explorers shirt, Perkins said, and he often worked behind the scenes at football games and other events long after school had let out.

“You could always count on him. That’s part of what makes this so tragic,” she said. “He didn’t deserve to have his life cut short.”

Nancy Bode, one of Rabon’s math teachers at Cypress Lake, said he was usually upbeat and talkative,and he often fixed technological glitches in the classroom _ he could make any computer or graphing calculator work.

“He wasn’t one of the big football player kind of guys. He was the little fellow, the one you could rely on,” she said.

Lee County Sheriff’s Mike Scott knew Rabon as a member of the Explorer program since 2003.

It’s a program that introduces teenagers and young adults to law enforcement, and since Rabon looked young for his age, he often worked as a decoy in law enforcement stings on businesses that sold cigarettes to minors.

Scott described Rabon as an example of someone who had overcome an early start in a “broken home.” His natural mother had problems with alcohol, Scott said, and he was adopted into the Rabon family about 10 years ago.

“He didn’t come grow up as someone of privilege,” Scott said. “He was just a really nice, intelligent, hard-working young man. He was working the night he got shot.”

About a quarter to 10 p.m. Aug. 25, the Sheriff’s Office received a call about an armed robbery at the Pic N Run at 8902 Alico Road in San Carlos Park.

Arrest reports for Iris and Chad Moreland describe what the Sheriff’s Office said happened:

Rabon and a co-worker, Elizabeth Reed, 21, were both working in the back room of the store when a man and woman both dressed mostly in black walked in. Both were armed.

They hit Rabon with their fists and firearms, and Rabon fought back. The man fired one shot at Rabon, hitting him in the face. They then took money from the store’s cash register, then left in Reed’s car.

The Sheriff’s Office believes the robbers were Iris Moreland and Chad Moreland.

The Morelands both have criminal records.

Iris Moreland, 27, of 3501 Dale Street, No. E24, Fort Myers, was arrested after deputies found her at her brother’s home Sunday morning. At the time, she was arrested on charges of robbery with a firearm and grand theft.

Chad Moreland, of 3701 Sabal Palm Drive, No. E20, Fort Myers, was arrested later in the day at a home on Cuba Avenue in Fort Myers after a standoff that lasted several hours.

First-degree murder charges were added for both Morelands Friday morning after authorities learned of Rabon’s death.

It isn’t clear why that particular convenience store was targeted, Scott said, but he pointed to the criminal records of each suspect.

Iris Moreland has been convicted on multiple drug charges in the past year, and she has been arrested more than 20 times in Lee County in the past 10 years.

She was last released from jail July 22 after an arrest on charges of fleeing police, resisting an officer and driving without a license.

Her brother, Chad Moreland was last released from jail July 8. When he was 17, he was arrested on charges of grand theft. Since then, he has been convicted on charges that include drug possession and battery.

Comments

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Hang them from the highest tree you SOBs.

#1 Posted by The_Brooks on August 31, 2007 at 11:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The Brooks, I'll supply the rope and the tree. A long rope and a short tree, just to make it interesting.

#2 Posted by 676 on August 31, 2007 at 11:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Pay per view with proceeds to victims family

#3 Posted by Biff on August 31, 2007 at 11:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Such a waste. At the age of 20 he hadn't started life yet.

Rope nothing! Wrap them in wet leather and set them in the sun to dry.

#4 Posted by mangy_coon on August 31, 2007 at 11:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)

man mango that is just awesome, i have never heard of that

#5 Posted by NeezDutz on August 31, 2007 at 11:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Agree with all the comments above....assuming, of course, that the murder charges are proven and they are found guilty in a court of law.

#6 Posted by Like_It_Is on August 31, 2007 at 11:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Would not of been arrested and charged if they were not already guilty. Please come to Collier County Mike Scott!

#7 Posted by mattmaki on August 31, 2007 at 12:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This headline and article title are EXTREMELY misleading. This store is off of Alico Rd between I75 and US41. That area is very clearly in San Carlos Park...not Estero. The San Carlos Fire District has a huge fire station 1/3 of the way up Ben Hill Griffin Rd from Corkscrew Rd to Alico. In addition, a San Carlos citizens' group and Estero Council of Community Leaders have been screaming over several communities in the boundary area along Estero pkwy that are being fought over like a Jerry Springer worthy custody dispute...which is several miles south of Alico. Come on! Anyone at the NDN or BDN have a map! That part of Lee County has never been considered Estero.

That being said: this was a senseless crime and the perpetrators should be locked up and the key thrown away.

#8 Posted by Midwesterner on August 31, 2007 at 12:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Anyone see the mug shots yet? Don Imus would be foaming at the mouth.

#9 Posted by mattmaki on August 31, 2007 at 12:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Did they at least get away with beer and cigarettes! Young life wasted, get rid of those two!

#10 Posted by Mony on August 31, 2007 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Such a shame, I was praying for this young man to make a full recovery and be able to follow his dreams of becoming an officer. These two lovely human beings have taken an innocent life away for nothing.

#11 Posted by MIAbrat on August 31, 2007 at 12:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I say TAR the illegitimates then the Leather and then we hang them after that the bungee off the crane

#12 Posted by bigtwinvhf on August 31, 2007 at 12:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I think I love you bigtwin....LOL

#13 Posted by mangy_coon on August 31, 2007 at 1:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)

So sad.

Lethal injection would be much too humane. I say burn them both at the stake.

#14 Posted by jim09091 on August 31, 2007 at 1:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You know, why was this "neighbor" or "friend" giving all of this personal information.
I know how the NDN reporters work and i know they tried to contact the mother of this poor child. She obviously didn't want to comment or want personal information out or she would have done it herself. Who do these informants think they are.
Criminals are animals.
God be with the mother.

#15 Posted by NeezDutz on August 31, 2007 at 1:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

676 I wouldn't miss that for the world. Nothing like a good tree and length of good rope, the possiblities... Maybe thats what SW FLorida needs. To show we will not tolerate these senseless acts of violence. Quick,simple and easy. Instead of this being dragged out for years and years and years, wasting taxpayer money, appeals, and these two lovely human beings finding Jesus and begging for forgiveness. How sad ...

Coon might have something there , very unique, very slow and I imagine very painful. Literally squeeze the life right out of you. "Wrap them in wet leather and set them in the sun to dry." Have you thought of running for Sheriff Coon?

#16 Posted by Jadip811 on August 31, 2007 at 1:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"I guess it was just him doing a good deed. He was trying to be a man.’’

Now that statement goes to the heart.
This kid had alot on the ball, and two (alleged) thug punks extinquish him.

NeezDutz, I'm glad the neighbors took the time to get to know this kid and let the media know of him and his dreams. Most 20 years can't convey their dreams. His mother sure has suffered great loss; 2 MEN in eight months.

Smile and say hello to a clerk next time.

#17 Posted by mangy_coon on August 31, 2007 at 1:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I understand but it's not the neighbors business to talk about him being adopted.
Praising him for being a man is great but some things are for family to decide what is public.

#18 Posted by NeezDutz on August 31, 2007 at 2:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

My sympathies to the Mother and extended family and friends. What a senseless death.
Those "animals" arent worth the cost of rope, tar or leather, take them out back a expend a .22 into their skull. They are only worth the few cents those cost.

#19 Posted by SandnSurf on August 31, 2007 at 2:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Man, you guys complain when the NDN doesn't provide enough information and you complain when they provide too much. What, exactly, would be the correct amount of personal information to include, Neez? Everyone in this thread has formed a sympathetic opinion of this poor victim based solely on the details provided by the reporter (since, presumably none of us know him personally). That's why those kinds of questions get asked by reporters. It's important for people to understand that the victim was a nice young person with hopes and dreams who deserved much better. Even if his own family can't bear to talk about it right now, they certainly want the world to remember him that way.

#20 Posted by naplesscribe on August 31, 2007 at 2:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i guess you would understand better if you had a family member "die" in an unjust way
sorry for my opinion

#21 Posted by NeezDutz on August 31, 2007 at 2:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Right on, Neez. I don't understand because I come from a family of immortals and nobody close to me has ever died. Tool.

#22 Posted by naplesscribe on August 31, 2007 at 3:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

IS CHAD STILL THE NICEST GUY YOU WOULD EVER MEET?

JUST CURIOUS!

OUR DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY & FRIENDS OF GERALD RABON!!!!!!!!!!

#23 Posted by FLBUTTERFLY1026 on August 31, 2007 at 4:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Too sad for words to describe!
These two thugs should go straight to hell. (now)!!

#24 Posted by will1313 on August 31, 2007 at 6:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

In reference to earlier posts regarding trees- In the very deep South, this practice would produce something known as an "Alabama wind-chime."

#25 Posted by sancho on August 31, 2007 at 6:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

What a terrible waste of a young life. My thoughts and prayers to his extended family.

I like the bungee cord idea. Quick and effective. A lot of people would pay good money to see that.

#26 Posted by swfl_ff on August 31, 2007 at 8:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Where is the outrage from the local NAACP on this case? Trust me, if this were a black victim of two white maggots there would be protests occurring all over the area. The NAACP would get a lot more credibility if they would speak up for the disproportionate number of white victims of black perpetrators. Oh, excuse me, black perpetrators are to be forgiven because of their oppressed status.

#27 Posted by goneand on August 31, 2007 at 9:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Idea, forget 'Ole Sparky', & the 'lethal Injection', JAWS Chum! We have some of the warmest waters in the world, lets lure a few eating machines, their hair should produce enough oil for the chumming.
Or how about a little ancient An-Eye-For-An-Eye, A-tooth-For-A-Tooth.

#28 Posted by Merchant_Gal on August 31, 2007 at 10:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey jessie jackson and the rev whatever his effen name is...you gonna defend these 2?? Fry there asses!!!

#29 Posted by xwoodsterx on August 31, 2007 at 11:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Look! Its raggity Ann and Andy!

#30 Posted by donaldii on August 31, 2007 at 11:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

he fought because he was protecting others you pharaohs their are people in this world that will still try to protect others no matter what the cost. An AMERICAN!!

#31 Posted by n7lima on September 1, 2007 at 8:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Jayiq: You must be a friend of the robbers. Why else would you stick up for these dirt bags, and rationalize why this kid was shot, during a robbery, and eventually died a week later as a result of his wounds they inflicted?

#32 Posted by Merchant_Gal on September 1, 2007 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

this is were the f------ n word is proper to use.

#33 Posted by joker22joe on September 1, 2007 at 9:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The people in this country can't stomach standing up to terrorists who attack us, how are we going to be tough on criminals?

This poor kid had more stones than most of the American public. The cowards win again because we play by the Liberal rules and the criminals don't...

#34 Posted by TooMuchGovernment on September 1, 2007 at 9:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)

1. " Vengence is mine sayeth the Lord." Make sure that justice is served through the courts and if a jury deems them guilty, they will get their sentence. Poisoning the press with some of the medieval statements as made here will only make it more difficult to find a jury and allow justice to be served. Because Gerry was an Explorer, I am sure he would want that.

2. Anyone who works in a convenience store or fast food place is always told to give the robbers the money and not cause a confrontation. Gerry was brave, but unless the perps were striking the innocent employees first, it is al ways better to let the robbers go so employees are safe. I wonder if the clerks at that convenience store are trained in event of a robbery?

3. "Gerry" sounds like a good kid. What a loss to our world. He overcame much. Sounds like an instance where you could compare how two groups of young people who start off disadvantaged somewhere along the way make choices or encounter circumstances that result in such totally diverse directions in life.. however, the path comes full circle and the kid who overcame ends up tragically murdered....

4. I understand the sentiment of outrage but some of these comments are really ugly and the website monitor should delete some of them. Our community is better than this.

5. Blessings to the mothers, one who has just lost her precious son by violence, another who has already lost two children to crime and violence and who if deemed guilty will face lethal injection. There are no winners, only suffering in this story. Again only Lady Justice can be the winner.

#35 Posted by MarthaSimons on September 1, 2007 at 10:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Circle3Ranch for prez! I like your way of thinking CircleR. These 2 will be praised in prison, and will never have to be someones little woman, or butch. hell, let's face it their just too danged ugly for that.

#36 Posted by Merchant_Gal on September 1, 2007 at 12:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

RIP Gerald Rabon

#37 Posted by oldtimer on September 1, 2007 at 1:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Circle3Ranch.. unfortunately there will always be violent behavior and criminals... unless you think there is some possibilty of a utopian society. I don't. Yes , this kind of senseless murder angers and saddens most people.
However heros have fought and died for our constitution which doesn't allow for cruel and unusual punishment because as a country we are better than that and most people don't want to allow their morality dip down into the same kind of senseless vengefulness as criminals. I am proud that most Americans agree with me.

Yes, I believe in the death penalty but carried out after a careful trial and in strict adherence to the law. If not we, the innocent, are all the more threatened by the desire to carry out revenge on violent criminals. The death penalty is meant as a meteing out of justice not revenge.Otherwise we would be not better than the Middle East which is all about revenge. I guess that is my point.

#38 Posted by MarthaSimons on September 1, 2007 at 7:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Gerald had dreams, was involved, and trying to figure his life out. He didn't have any fears. My prayers are with this young mans Mother and those who loved him. These two dirt bags need a buzz cut! I do hope they get death.

#39 Posted by DOBERMAN on September 1, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Send them both off to Iraq, as IAD techs. Battering ram bumpers on 2 hum-vs. How long do you think they would last?

#40 Posted by Merchant_Gal on September 1, 2007 at 10:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Martha "Unfortunately there will always be violent behavior and criminals" I agree, but at what point do you finally do something? America will never be a utopian society ever. But we used to be one of the closest things to it. Now it's acts like these that seem to be a daily occurence. Something is definitely wrong with our society.Is our justice system too lenient or forgiving? Shootings, robberies,senseless violence. Where do we as a society draw the line? Fight fire with fire? Do unto others BEFORE they do unto you?

#41 Posted by Jadip811 on September 3, 2007 at 12:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

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