A man and woman are facing multiple charges after they were accused of restraining and beating a Brooksville man after entering his home in the Trillium subdivision.
Michael Terry, deputy public information officer (PIO) for the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) said that on the afternoon of July 16, HCSO deputies responded to a report about a possible physical altercation. During a 911 call, a witness said that she had seen a man covered in blood exiting a home on the 14000 Block of Wake Robin Drive, getting into a vehicle and driving away.
Deputies later located the vehicle on Ayers Road as it was leaving the subdivision. During a subsequent traffic stop they discovered a male passenger in need of immediate medical care. Emergency medical personnel were called to the scene and transported the man to an area trauma center for treatment.
The vehicle’s female driver told deputies that she had previously lived in the victim’s home, and that she and a male friend had gone to his home to get her mail. Once there, she heard a muffled scream when she knocked on the door. Fearing for the victim’s safety, the woman said that she and her friend forcibly entered the home via a front window. Once inside, the woman said that she found the victim bound, gagged, beaten and lying on the living room floor. A suspect later identified as Bonnie Hartmann, age 44, was standing over him, the woman said.
The woman subsequently untied the man and helped him out of the residence and into her car.
When deputies including a K-9 unit arrived on the scene Hartmann exited the home without incident.
A second suspect later identified as Jonathan Rowe III, 35 refused to leave, and climbed into an attic space to avoid capture.
An hour later, deputies discovered Rowe passed out in the attic. They took him into custody without further incident.
Further investigation revealed that Hartmann and Rowe had lived in the residence until they were evicted in December. According to Hartman, she and Rowe returned to the residence and entered through an unlocked door in order to retrieve some belongings they left behind.
Meanwhile, the victim was aroused from his sleep by a loud noise, and found two individuals wearing masks standing over him The pair subsequently beat him with a crowbar and a wooden table leg, he said.
When he removed his own head covering, said he was able to identify Hartmann who was no longer wearing a mask.
The victim screamed for help when the woman and her friend rang the doorbell.
Hartmann and Rowe were subsequently arrested and each charged with Home Invasion Robbery while Armed with a Deadly Weapon and Armed Kidnapping. They were transported to the Hernando County Detention Center where Rowe is being held in lieu of $85,000 bond. Hartmann is being held without bond due to a Violation of Probation charge stemming from a previous arrest.
