Duo Accused In Craigslist Robbery Of Marine Enter Plea
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Two men accused of shooting a Marine officer during robbery in Deerfield Beach have entered a plea of not guilty.
Attorneys for Jeff Steele, 20, and James Flourney, 20, entered the pleas Thursday morning during a hearing. Steele and Flourney, who are being held in jail without bail at the Main Jail in Broward County, were not present at the hearing.
On December 21st, Lt. Col. Karl Trenker on Dec. 21st drove from his home in Miramar to Deerfield Beach to sell a necklace his fiancée had advertised on Craigslist. The buyers, however, had other plans.
"Picked it up, put it in his hand and said yeah that feels real and then he took off running, and I said really?" recalled Trenker from his hospital bed shortly after the shooting.
With his kids, Trenker drove around the complex until he confronted the thieves again. That's when they started shooting.
After being shot in the chest, stomach, shoulder and back of his head, he chased the men on foot; he used his fingers to plug bullet holes.
Broward sheriff's deputies arrived moments later and arrested Steele and Flourney.
Trenker was taken to North Broward Medical Center and released nine days later.
Both Steele and Flourney are charged with attempted murder and robbery with a firearm.
