Prosecutors have decided to seek pre-trial detention for two of the three people arrested in connection with a May 8 bank robbery.
If the court approves the request, the pair will stay at the county jail without bail unless another court later sets bail amounts.
Pre-trial detention requests are reserved for defendants facing violent felony charges. The hearing is usually held within five days of the request.Â
The defendants in question, now identified by Ocala police as Andre J. Baker and Amanda Jean Bishop, will remain held without bail until the pre-trial detention hearing. On May 9, both appeared via Zoom from the Marion County Jail for a first appearance hearing presided over by County Judge Lori Cotton.
First appearances & criminal records
Baker is charged with robbery with a firearm/principal. He also faces a violation of probation warrant for possession of methamphetamine.
The 36-year-old Ocala man told the judge he has family in Marion County and is unemployed.
The judge appointed the Public Defender’s Office to represent Baker, who has multiple felony convictions including robbery, grand theft and possession of methamphetamine.
Baker was released from state prison in May 2022, records show. He is on probation for drug charges. The probation was scheduled to end in October 2027. Baker was listed as a fugitive and was wanted.
Bishop, also of Ocala, is charged with robbery with a firearm/principal and fleeing and eluding. She has no criminal history.
The 34-year-old defendant told the judge she has family in Marion County, including her three children, and is unemployed. She also will be represented by the Public Defender’s Office.
Baker, Bishop and the third defendant were involved in a vehicle crash after the robbery. Baker and Bishop were transported to a hospital for treatment and, once medically cleared and interviewed, were transported to the jail for booking.
The third person arrested in this case, now identified by Ocala police as Randall Lee Williford of Lady Lake, is charged with robbery with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and tampering with evidence.
Williford has a criminal history. In 2015, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted robbery with a firearm. Before that, he was on drug probation. While on drug offender probation, he was charged with the attempted robbery, according to court documents.
The 37-year-old is presently at a local hospital receiving treatment for a gunshot wound to his right wrist. Ocala police shot him during a foot chase after the vehicle crash. Police say Williford pointed a gun at them. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
