Several women were arrested on warrants this week for a brawl involving a gun at a bus stop outside the Lake Sumter Apartments.
Law enforcement jailed four women Tuesday night, including 22-year-old I’Tterria Kamora Brazil Small Smith, 22-year-old Kaniya Zakira McPhee, 25-year-old Keyundra Onisha McPhee and 33-year-old Brittany Marie Cathcart, on Tuesday morning for the violent incident. The fifth suspect, 34-year-old Virginia Rose Elizabeth Jordan, remains at large.
According to arrest reports from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, Cathcart and her children arrived at the bus stop outside Lake Sumter Apartments on County Road 466 and Cherry Lake Road at 7 a.m. Dec. 1. They were approached by Jordan, who wanted to speak with Cathcart’s spouse, Kaniya, about an altercation from the previous day.
Shortly after, Brazil Small Smith showed up only to start arguing with several bystanders. She told multiple people, including children, about a firearm and mace inside the purse she carried. Her threats to use both against them created fear and directly contributed to the growing commotion at the bus stop, the report said.
Kaniya and her sister Keyundra, who lives The Cove Apartments in Lady Lake, then arrived and got into a verbal confrontation with Jordan who promptly punched Kaniya in the face. This sparked several separate fights between the women and multiple juveniles standing nearby. Cathcart immediately responded by hitting one juvenile while Brazil Small Smith struck another, causing the minor sibling to try pulling her off her sister, the report said.
Several witnesses described seeing Keyundra with a firearm, suspected to have been grabbed from the purse of Brazil Small Smith. Kaniya was also seen holding the firearm during the ongoing fights. The visibility of the gun scared surrounding parents and children. At the end of a video recording taken during the altercation, a reference to a gun could be heard, and several people could be seen running toward the children, the report said.
Further investigation determined Kaniya pointed the firearm at a mother trying to separate her child from the fighting. The mother stated Kaniya aimed the gun at her and ordered her to “back off.” Fearing for her safety and that of her daughter, they immediately retreated. This account was corroborated by three witnesses, the report said.
More video evidence showed multiple people mutually engaging in physical combat. All involved individuals admitted participation, each claiming self-defense. But the riot blocked the entrance to the apartment complex, resulted in uninvolved children being hit and caused parents to retreat with their children at the sight of the gun. It also required a significant response from law enforcement to break it up, the report said.
Most of the women, including Brazil Small Smith, Kaniya McPhee and Keyundra McPhee, were charged with aggravated riot with a deadly weapon and transported to the Sumter County Detention Center with $5,000 bonds. Cathcart, who had no lawful justification for hitting a child, was charged with disorderly conduct and put in jail on a $1,000 bond. As for Jordan, a warrant charging her with disorderly conduct has been issued for her arrest.