Two men were arrested Wednesday in Golden Gate in connection with a residential burglary. Christian Shepherd, 19, faces charges of burglary and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His twin brother Jeremy Shepherd faces charges of burglary and criminal mischief.
The victim, Manuel DeJesus Serrano, said he came home Wednesday afternoon to find a big mess in the house he rents on 41st Street Southwest. Almost every window in the home was smashed and the house was ransacked.
A few hours later, Serrano said Christian and Jeremy Shepherd showed up in his yard.
"They started telling me (Hispanic racist slurs) and other stuff," Serrano said through a translator.
He said that the brothers - who he does not know - called him "Chico," and that they told they had broken into his house. When Manuel yelled at them, he said Christian Shepherd threatened him.
"One of the guys wanted to fight (with me) and he had a knife in his hand," Serrano said.
But Serrano's friends showed up at the house just then, and he said the Shepherd brothers fled on bicycles. Collier County Sheriff's deputies caught up with them soon after.
At their first court appearances Thursday, a judge set Jeremy Shepherd's bond at $15,000, and Christian Shepherd's bond at $25,000. Both are ordered to have no contact with Serrano, and to stay away from the house.
