Palm Beach County deputies arrested 26-year-old Eric Matthew Raby II after a months-long investigation into an alleged armed robbery and kidnapping at a Lake Worth Beach rental property in July. Two victims said they were separated and threatened at gunpoint during the attack.
According to CBS12, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says Raby was arrested after being identified as the suspect in the July 20 incident at the Airbnb located at 402 South Ocean Breeze. A victim told investigators that a man named Michael Rescigno had invited the two victims to the home that day, and that Rescigno and two other men then attacked them inside while a woman held up a firearm.
Victims Describe Being Separated and Threatened
The victims described being separated during the confrontation. One said they were put in a bedroom and heard the men urging the woman with the firearm to shoot them. The other said they were held in the backyard, had their phone taken and were threatened with being shot if they screamed.
Both victims eventually escaped and went to JFK Medical Center for treatment, according to the report. The items reported stolen were two 10-karat Cuban-link bracelets valued at about $10,000 total and a gold nugget ring valued at $500.
Lake Worth Beach’s Short-Term-Rental Rule
The City of Lake Worth Beach’s resident guide says short-term rentals of 60 days or less are not permitted in the city. That rule alone does not establish the rental’s status or duration in this case.
Charges Follow a Lengthy Investigation
Deputies say a lengthy investigation helped identify Raby as a participant in the robbery. He now faces charges of kidnapping, robbery with a firearm, aggravated battery and grand theft, as reported by CBS12. The grand theft charge falls under Florida law, which defines theft as knowingly obtaining or using another person's property with intent to deprive the owner of it, according to the Florida Legislature.
Under that same statute, property valued between $750 and $5,000 — or between $40 and $750 if taken from a dwelling — can qualify as third-degree grand theft, a third-degree felony.
A 2018 search-result snippet from the Palm Beach Post reported that an Eric Matthew Raby II, then 18, was accused of being an accomplice in a separate robbery involving a weapon, though that limited record does not establish the outcome of that case or confirm any connection to the current charges.
