Two Key West firefighters jailed in the beating and robbery of a bar patron

Two Key West firefighters attacked a man outside a bar last week and stole his gold crucifix necklace, police said

But they only stole the gold chain after one used it to drag the man across a parking lot, according to the arrest report.

Brandon Shea Kocis, 33, and William Rosco Mosblech, 25, were each arrested Friday on charges of felony robbery with a weapon, aggravated battery and grand theft for the incident reported at 3:50 a.m. May 27 outside Shooterz Lounge and Sports Bar, 3102 Flagler Ave.

The charges take into account the alleged crimes took place during a state of emergency ordered by Gov. Ron DeSantis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, police noted in the report.

Kocis was also charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief for breaking off a windshield wiper off the alleged victim’s car.

Key West police offered no motive for the incident, which is described in the arrest report as starting with a prank: Kocis, Mosblech and another man placed beer bottles under a car that belonged to Oleg Rusu, according to a witness.

Rusu was inside Shooterz when a friend told him someone had broken off his windshield wiper so he went outside and spoke to Kocis, who he said offered to pay for the damage.

Then a woman who was with Kocis and his friends asked to speak to Rusu and when the two began talking, Rusu said Mosblech jumped him from behind and began punching him in the head and face, according to the arrest report.

Rusu said while he was on the ground, Kocis joined in the fight, grabbing the gold chain around Rusu’s neck and using it to drag him across the pavement, police said.

The two firefighters left in a truck with a group of friends, police said. They had the chain with them.

Mosblech resigned from the Key West Fire Department before he was arrested on Friday. Kocis was placed on administrative leave and will have a hearing, said city spokeswoman Alyson Crean.

Mosblech was hired March 9 and was hearing $51,267 a year, the city said, while Kocis was hired on Dec. 18, 2008, and earned $71,130 a year.

Shooterz Lounge is allowed to be open during the Florida statewide bar shutdown because the business has a restaurant license, according to the city code department, which means that 51 percent of the revenue comes from the sale of food.

This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 1:38 PM.

Gwen Filosa

Miami Herald

Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in 2005 won two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Indiana University.