Image Mug Shot of Otis Brown, from Lee County Sheriff's Office, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten
On 31 May, about 6 p.m. at 3101 N. Miami Avenue, it has been reported that Otis Brown, a career criminal, attempted to commit an armed robbery of two men as they were walking their dog outside of the Midtown Mall.
The temperature at 6 p.m. was 82 degrees with an ENE breeze of 13 mph with humidityof 72%. Sunset would not be until 8:07. Looking at the images from Google maps, there is graffiti in the neighborhood.
Google maps image of North Miami Ave in the vicinity of the gunfight.
One of the men grappled with Brown. It appears to have been an attempted disarm by the victim. Disarms are a dangerous and desperate tactic. As Brown and the victim struggled, the victim was shot in the shoulder. From Wink news:
According to detectives, two men were walking when they were confronted by Otis Brown Jr. of Lehigh Acres. He attempted to rob the men at gunpoint, police said, and one of the victims exchanged gunfire with Brown, shooting him.
Brown was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he later died. One of the victims was also taken to the hospital, but his condition has not been released.
Brown, 38, was a registered felon in Florida with numerous arrests in Lee County going back to 1998.
Brown had a long series of arrests as an adult, starting when he was a teenager. He had recently been released from prison. It appears the gunfight happened very quickly. First, the robbery attempt, then grappling for a handgun, when the first victim is shot. At that point the second victim engages Brown, using a Glock pistol and hitting Brown eleven times.
Monday evening’s shooting at Midtown unfolded outside a parking garage on the 3100 block of North Miami Avenue. The two men walking their dog live in the area, and were returning home when they were confronted by Otis Brown, 38, of Leigh Acres, who tried to rob them.
According to a source, Brown and one of the men began grappling. The other man, who was legally armed with a Glock, hid briefly behind a post and heard his friend get shot in the shoulder. He emerged from behind the post and exchanged gunfire with Brown, who was hit 11 times.
The dog ran off, but was later rescued. The robbery victims both had their weapons legally, and are not expected to face charges. Investigators believe they acted in self-defense.
Without further details, this correspondent can only speculate the second victim took cover as the first grappled with Brown. It often makes more sense to seek cover than to stand in the open while drawing a handgun. WSVN.com reports the second victim was grazed by a bullet just before he opened fire on Brown.
One of them was shot in the shoulder.
The other was grazed by a bullet, and then pulled out a gun in self-defense, shooting the man.
It seems likely the second victim drew his pistol from behind cover, as the first shots were fired. The second victim then ended the gunfight with eleven hits from his Glock pistol. The reports do not tell us how many shots Brown fired.
The police reports do not tell us how many victims Brown interacted with during his criminal career. The reports do not tell us how many years of Brown's life he spent behind bars.
We are left with the conclusion it took two armed victims to conclusively stop Otis Brown's criminal career by effectively resisting his attack on 31 May, 2021. Otis died as a result.
One of the benefits of an armed population is: it makes criminal conduct more dangerous. This case highlights how legally armed individual reinforce each other.
It is possible Otis Brown could have turned his life around, but the odds are against it. To paraphrase Massad Ayoob, Otis Brown made a fatal mistake in the victim selection process. It is impossible to know how many future crimes were prevented by the death of Otis Brown.
©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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