FRUITLAND PARK, Fla.—A Fruitland Park man remains in the Lake County Jail on $28,500 bond, accused of robbing his grandparents and threatening to slice their throats.
Shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday, Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a home in unincorporated Fruitland Park on a report of a robbery that occurred Friday night. Richard French told a deputy his wife, Shirley, had just left the home with his grandson Kyle Davis Blowers, 36, to get gas. French said around 9 p.m. Blowers came into their bedroom, approached them with a knife and reportedly said, “I want the money, I need your debit card now, or I am going to slice your throats.” In fear for their lives, according to Richard French, Shirley French retrieved the debit card, gave it to Blowers and he left, according to an arrest affidavit.
Blowers’ grandfather went on to tell the deputy his grandson had brandished a weapon and demanded money multiple times and it was an “ongoing issue.” He said his grandson had been diagnosed with a mental health condition and stopped taking his medication last week.
On Sunday, Blowers demanded the debit card again and his grandmother told him she would go with him to get money and they left together in a blue Dodge Ram. A family member told LCSO Blowers has a history of stealing money from his grandparents, and she fears he will kill them. She provided Shirley French’s location through a tracking app and Fruitland Park Police Department assisted LCSO and responded to Walmart, 2501 Citrus Boulevard and pulled the Dodge Ram over as it exited the parking lot, the affidavit states.
Shirley French told deputies her grandson demanded she buy a $400 Apple gift card, and she bought it because she fears him, and she told deputies three months ago, he placed his hands around her neck and she was sore after, but she never lost her ability to breathe. She said her grandson has taken money from her on numerous occasions, totaling more than $1,000, and she fears he will kill her and her husband if he is released from jail.
Blowers admitted to deputies he did brandish a knife while demanding money from his grandparents, and he was arrested and transported to the Lake County Jail. He is facing charges of robbery with a weapon, battery on a person 65 or older and grand theft. Blowers is a registered sex offender, stemming from a 2008 conviction of sexual misconduct with a minor in Jay County, Indiana, according to his Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sexual Offender Flyer. He was 20 years old at the time of his conviction.
