Sheriff says he was ‘glad’ to arrest woman accused of killing AJ Owens, video was the final straw
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said he was “glad” to approve the arrest of the woman accused of killing her neighbor by shooting the woman through the suspect’s front door Friday after a dispute over children playing.
Susan Lorincz, 58, was taken into custody four days after investigators said she pulled the trigger.
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Deputies said Ajike “A.J.” Owens’ children gave matching stories, other witnesses came forward and video was discovered that further backed their claims.
Lorincz had previously told deputies that she fired in fear for her life, a claim the sheriff called “B.S.”
“She couldn’t see through the door, she couldn’t see the individual. So her comments that she was in fear of her life… raises the hair on the back of our neck,” Woods said. “The cameras were the final nail.”
Lorincz spent Wednesday undergoing a mental health evaluation, according to deputies, and is expected to make a first appearance Thursday morning.
Read: Woman who deputies say shot, killed neighbor in Marion County taken into custody
Owens’ family and their supporters gathered a few miles nearby to thank the sheriff and call on prosecutors to upgrade the shooter’s charges.
“There’s evidence there to increase the charges,” attorney Benjamin Crump said. “Especially when you think about what happened, with her harassing the children with racial epithets and profanity.”
Read: Ocala mother of four killed in possible “Stand Your Ground” case
Crump also decried the amount of time it took deputies to arrest Owens, but faulted Florida law that requires law enforcement to determine Stand Your Ground shouldn’t apply, rather than Woods.
He remarked that Black families rarely see swift justice, a perception that Woods acknowledged and said he was working to change.
“Is it a concern? Yes,” he said, adding that, as sheriff, he didn’t treat anyone differently because of the color of their skin. “Prejudice exists all over this world … As a leader, if I close my ears, I begin to fail in my job, and I need to listen to (the Black community), listen to their advice, and how I can better serve them.”
READ: Protesters call for arrest of woman accused of shooting, killing Marion County mother
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