Suspect Derick Lee, after being arrested by police (Lake City Police Department)If you ask the 15 women inside Jacquie Hagler’s house what happened, they’ll tell you it’s simple: Jesus scared a would-be thief out of the Florida woman’s home.
At first, those gathered at Hagler’s house for a jewelry party thought the intruder was part of an elaborate gag, using a “water gun” to tease the Florida women.
"It's only a water gun," one attendee reportedly said, while brushing away the firearm allegedly brandished by Derick Lee, who allegedly entered the home wearing a ski cap and bandana across his face.
Witnesses say Lee then held the gun to the woman’s head and announced, "I'm not joking, I'm going to shoot someone, give me your money." He even showed the women some of the bullets loaded into his gun before they could be convinced the robbery attempt was real.
What Lee didn’t know was that, spiritually speaking, he was outgunned by the jewelry party attendees.
"When I realized what was going on, I stood up and said, 'In the name of Jesus, get out of my house now,'” Hagler told WJXT-TV. "And he said, 'I'm going to shoot someone.' And I said it again, real boldly," Hagler continued. "Everybody started chanting, 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,' and he did a quick scan of the room and ran out the door as fast as he could go."
The suspect, Lee, 24, was arrested on Friday night at his home and identified by several of the jewelry party attendees during a police photo lineup. He’s currently being held on a $200,000 bond.
"I believe he saw angels,” Hagler said in an interview with the Christian Post. “He saw who was on our side, and he just turned around. The look on his face was just, like, astonishment. He was totally captivated by whatever he saw. He just turned around and ran out the door.”