CRIME

Double-murder suspect brought back from Georgia

Daniel Smithson
daniel.smithson@gvillesun.com
Cedric T. Plummer. [Alachua County jail]

The mother of the murder suspect in a shooting Feb. 13 at Summer Place Villas that left two dead and involved a kidnapping told an Alachua County judge Tuesday that her son should be mentally evaluated.

“We’re here to support our son,” said the woman, who was visibly emotional in the Alachua County Criminal Justice Center’s courtroom 2C.

The suspect, Cedric Tremaine Plummer, 23, was extradited from Lowndes County, Georgia, to Alachua County and booked into the jail at 2:27 p.m. Monday, according to court and jail records.

He's charged with the murders of Jude Onyegbulum Osuji Jr., 28, Robert Earl Brumbaugh, 61, and the kidnapping of Hailey Louise Roberts, 19.

At Plummer’s first court appearance Tuesday, County Court Judge Walter M. Green ordered no bond on Plummer’s two counts of first-degree murder and a $500,000 bond on his one count of kidnapping.

Before Plummer was called before the court via a video stream, Plummer sat on a bench in the Alachua County jail, in a seemingly relaxed, laid-back position.

After his name was called, Plummer told Green that he wanted to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights and did not want to answer any questions.

“I’m not going to ask you anything that would incriminate you,” Green said, but noted that Plummer had to the right to stay silent.

After addressing the court, Plummer’s mother, father, cousin and another woman left the courtroom.

As the door closed behind them, his mother, visibly weak and shaking in the knees, hugged another woman, while Plummer’s father stood nearby.

The family declined to comment.

Police say one week ago, on Feb. 13, Plummer shot and killed Osuji and Brumbaugh, and kidnapped Roberts — all employees of Summer Place Villas — after police say he damaged his apartment and refused to let apartment staff repair it, causing tension between him and apartment management.

Police said they were called out at least three times after that because of Plummer’s aggressive behavior.

GPD spokesman Ben Tobias said no reports were generated as they were responses to assistance calls and no crimes were reported.

Police said the day of the shooting, Plummer scheduled a meeting with Osuji, Brumbaugh and Roberts. Then, police say, he arrived at the apartment’s office and, without saying a word, shot and killed Osuji and Brumbaugh, and kidnapped Roberts, forcing her at gunpoint to drive to Georgia.

At one point, Plummer told Roberts to stop crying, placing a gun to her head and reminded her of what he did to Brumbaugh and Osuji, according to police.

Through electronic surveillance, law enforcement tracked Roberts, though they would not specify how they did it.

The report says Plummer told Roberts, “Don’t stop unless you wanna see brains in your lap.”

The car was stopped by police just across the county line in Cook County, Georgia. Law enforcement apprehended Plummer and rescued Roberts.

A .380-caliber handgun was found in the vehicle, police say, consistent with .380-caliber shell casings found at the apartment’s office at 3316 SW 41st Place.

Plummer is being held at the Alachua County jail under close observation, said Sgt. Brett Rhodenizer, spokesman for the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, but he is not under sucide watch.

Plummer has not been charged in Alachua County with any prior violent felonies.