A tragic situation unfolded in The Villages last week that saw a restaurant manager get robbed at gunpoint and fear he’d never see his wife and son again, two people whose lives clearly have fallen apart go to jail and a normally quiet neighborhood rocked by an 11-hour standoff and high-speed chase that surely will be the topic of recreation center chatter for months to come.
But as always seems to be the case, something good usually emerges from a bad situation. And last Tuesday’s incident that left 33-year-old armed robbery suspect Brian Christopher Davis in jail is no exception.
If you’re familiar with last week’s excitement in the Village of LaBelle North, then you know that Sumter County deputies deserve high praise for the way they handled the situation – from the moments following the 911 call from Belle Glade Manager Steve Wajda early Tuesday morning to the second arrest of Davis’ 31-year-old girlfriend, Allison Jill Lauricella, Thursday on charges of grand theft and petit theft.
In case you aren’t familiar with Tuesday’s situation, it all started when Wajda left Belle Glade Country Club in the wee hours of the morning. He went to throw something in the dumpster behind the restaurant and when he turned around, he was staring down the barrel of a handgun held by a masked man dressed in black from head to toe.
After the man demanded the restaurant’s night deposit bag, the 48-year-old Wajda pushed the gun away and the fight was on. During the struggle, the gunman’s mask came off and Wajda recognized him as Davis, a man who had worked for him in the past at Bonifay Country Club. And when Wajda eventually was hit on the head and across his chin with the gun, he found himself once again staring down the barrel of a firearm.
At that point, Wajda said, the 33-year-old Davis was visibly upset and pacing back and forth, asking him why he had to be a hero.
“He was like, ‘If I shoot you I’m going back to prison and if I don’t shoot you I go back to prison,’” the longtime restaurant manager recalled.
Eventually, Wajda was told not to move for five minutes. Shortly afterward, he called 911 for help and the standoff in LaBelle North – in Lauricella’s parents’ home at 373 Alteza Lane – took center stage. And once Davis broke off communications late Tuesday morning, the Sumter SWAT team moved in to break a window and enter the house.
But Davis suddenly crashed through the garage door driving a white Jeep SUV, hit the SWAT vehicle and sped out of the neighborhood, knocking down at least two gates along the way, sheriff’s officials say.
The short-lived high-speed chase, which went past the country club on Moyer Loop where it all started, came to an end in a cow pasture off Micro Racetrack Road in Lake County after deputies used their patrol vehicles to stop the SUV that had at least three flat tires from Stop Sticks placed by the garage door earlier.
Davis, of Oxford, was taken into custody and is facing 19 charges, the most serious being armed robbery. He is being held with no bail at the Sumter County Detention Center.
Meanwhile, Lauricella, a floor manager at a local restaurant, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia Tuesday after deputies found syringes and “multiple spoons, which were bent and burnt in a manner consistent with illegal injectable narcotic use” in her bedroom, a sheriff’s office report states.
Two days later, she was back in jail being held on $5,500 bond, this time after night deposits from the restaurant she works at turned up missing.
Yes, it’s been a crazy week for the sheriff’s office. But despite the immense pressure of facing down a man with a gun who had made it clear he wasn’t going back to jail, deputies handled every situation thrown their way as professionals who truly understand what it means to protect and serve.
There’s one other thing you should know: The way those deputies conducted themselves Tuesday – let’s not forget that no one was injured in a very dangerous situation – is a direct reflection of their boss, longtime Sheriff Bill Farmer. You won’t find a classier law enforcement officer who genuinely cares about the people his office serves and the folks who work for him more than Farmer does. He demands that his people – regardless of their position – bring their “A” game to work every day. And most importantly, he stresses the need to make sure the citizens of Sumter County are well taken care of when issues requiring law enforcement arise.
Finally, we’d like to add this: We in The Villages are fortunate to have law enforcement officers across the community who truly care about us and do their best to protect us on a daily basis. That includes not only the deputies of Sumter County, but those who serve in Lake and Marion counties, as well as the officers working for the Lady Lake, Wildwood and Fruitland Park Police Departments.
We can take great comfort in knowing that regardless of the situation at hand – from a standoff to a home burglary to catching thieves who steal from local stores to keeping drunk drivers off the roadways – we’re fortunate to live in a community where deputies and officers are so highly thought of and dedicated to making a difference for the citizens they serve.
