A former Boston police officer wants to return to his home in Lady Lake after allegedly fabricating a stabbing story during a boozy domestic dispute that drew massive law enforcement resources, including a sheriff’s helicopter.
A motion will be heard Thursday in Lake County Court regarding 66-year-old Lawrence Joseph Sullivan’s desire to be allowed to return to his residence in the Hammock Oaks development.
Sullivan was arrested this past month after police officers found him at the front door with his right hand covered in dried blood, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. Smeared blood and droplets were also scattered across the lower floor of the residence.
Sullivan initially told officers that his wife of 23 years had cut him with a sharp object and fled the home. He claimed he had tried to wake her up upstairs to get her to eat, but she became aggressive, bit his hand and slashed him. Fearing he would be stabbed, Sullivan said he ran downstairs to call 911. He also claimed his wife stole his watch and car keys before fleeing on foot.
A massive search ensued. Officers from Lady Lake and Fruitland Park, along with Lake County sheriff’s deputies, canvassed the neighborhood while the sheriff’s helicopter, Eagle 1, searched from the air.
Eagle 1 eventually spotted Sullivan’s wife hiding just north of the residence. After being detained and read her Miranda rights, she gave a vastly different account of the evening.
She told investigators that both she and Sullivan had been drinking earlier in the day and described her husband as an alcoholic who “tended to venture from telling the truth.” She stated she had gone upstairs to sleep after Sullivan ripped the bedsheets off the master bed. She claimed Sullivan later came upstairs and angrily demanded she go get more alcohol. When she refused, Sullivan allegedly wrapped his hand around her throat, prompting her to bite his hand to break his grip.
An officer noted a slight redness to the center of the woman’s throat. When asked about a knife or sharp object, she expressed confusion and denied any weapon was involved.
A portable breath test conducted on-site refuted Sullivan’s claim that he had not consumed alcohol due to an illness. His wife registered a blood alcohol content of 0.04, while Sullivan blew a 0.13.
When confronted with inconsistencies by a detective, Sullivan became angry and uncooperative, suggesting the wound on his hand may have just been a scratch or an accidental self-inflicted injury. Because all the blood was found downstairs and none was found upstairs, where Sullivan claimed the attack occurred, authorities determined he was the primary aggressor and had fabricated the stabbing report.
He was taken into custody and booked at the Lake County Jail. He was eventually released after posting $3,500 bond.
This is not Sullivan’s first alcohol-fueled encounter with local law enforcement at the Port Blue Way townhome, which property records show the couple purchased for $257,480.
In November 2025, Sullivan was arrested after his wife called 911 to report he had consumed a high amount of vodka and was acting strangely. Responding medics found visible blood throughout a bedroom and bathroom, along with a laceration on Sullivan’s ear from a fall.
Sullivan, who was highly agitated, threatened emergency personnel and boasted that he was a “retired cop” who knew what he was doing. While being restrained on a stretcher, Sullivan struck a paramedic in the groin and threatened to kill an intervening police officer. After being transported to the hospital, he apologized to the officer and requested to be released as a “professional courtesy” due to his history in law enforcement. He was charged with battery on emergency medical personnel and making threats to law enforcement in that incident.