Nicholas Mitchell, a 30-year-old resident of Palm Bay, Florida, was last seen on August 30, 2023. His roommate contacted the Palm Bay Police after Mitchell left home in his car and failed to return. Mitchell had physical ailments and was known to wear a heart monitor, which later helped police locate his body.
On August 30, 2023, Mitchell met Robert Lanning III, 28, and Rene Lemos, 41, at a Circle K convenience store in Palm Bay.
The trio then drove to a wooded area known as “The Compound” in Mitchell’s vehicle and Lemos’ truck. At some point during this outing, Mitchell was shot and killed. His body was left in the wooded area near Southwest Saint Andre and Warbler Avenue.
Lanning and Lemos were later involved in a high-speed chase in Alabama on September 4, 2023, while driving Mitchell’s car. Lanning was arrested in Marshall County, Alabama, after the vehicle crashed, while Lemos was arrested in Kennesaw, Georgia. Both were charged in connection with Mitchell’s death; Lanning was charged with first-degree murder and grand theft of a motor vehicle, and Lemos was charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and grand theft of a motor vehicle.
Mitchell’s body was discovered on September 8, 2023, near Warbler Avenue in the Compound. The investigation revealed that Lanning and Lemos blamed each other for the shooting, but neither could be definitively linked to the act.
In the subsequent legal proceedings, both Lanning and Lemos took plea deals. They pleaded no contest to amended charges of being accessories after the fact, avoiding murder convictions. On August 8, 2024, Judge Aaron Peacock sentenced both Lanning and Lemos to 18 years in prison for their roles in the crime. During the sentencing hearing, Lemos claimed she was under Lanning’s control and too afraid to report the incident, while the judge and Mitchell’s family members expressed strong condemnation of their actions.
