Woman shot at Gainesville hotel during well-being check charged with aggravated assault
A Georgia woman shot at a Gainesville hotel earlier this month by an Alachua County Sheriff's Office deputy has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault, court records show.
According to the sworn complaint, Calixta Lara, 30, was scheduled to check out of her room at the La Quinta Inn, 908 NW 69th Terrace, on Jan. 6, but told hotel staff she was too sick to leave her room. Hotel staff attempted to make contact with the woman on Jan. 8, but were unable to enter the room due to the door's deadbolt being secured.
Deputies were called to the hotel to perform a well-being check, however, attempts to talk to the woman through the door were unsuccessful.
Alachua County Fire Rescue eventually was called in to assist deputies with opening the door. Once the door was opened, deputies cleared the room and found an empty gun holster and shell casings on the bed. The bathroom door was locked, according to the sworn complaint.
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After hearing no sounds or communication from behind the bathroom door, deputies forced entry to "ensure that she was not in need of medical attention."
Once the door was opened, deputies reported that Lara was pointing a gun at her head. She refused commands to drop the weapon and then "made forward movements with the gun pointing the barrel toward the deputies."
One of the three deputies present — Matthew Davis, Clayton Litzkow and Steven Pillar — fired a single shot to "eliminate the threat." Lara was transported to UF Health Shands Hospital in stable condition. The complaint does not identify which deputy fired the shot.
The sworn complaint says Lara committed aggravated assault by refusing commands to drop the gun and pointing it in the direction of the deputies. She was booked into the Alachua County Jail late Monday afternoon and is being held on a $750,000 bond.
The incident is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the ACSO of Professional Standards will work determine if all Sheriff's Office policies were followed.
According to a release from the sheriff's office, deputies were called to the La Quinta Inn to perform a well-being check. Deputies were told that a hotel guest had not been seen since Saturday and that management was unable to access their room because the door's deadbolt had been secured.
They then noticed that the bathroom door was locked. After giving numerous verbal commands, deputies forced their way into the bathroom, where the found the suspect armed with a handgun. The suspect refused commands to drop the weapon and was shot by a deputy, the release says.
The incident is bring investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the ACSO of Professional Standards will work determine if all sheriff's office policies were followed. Those involved with the shooting have been placed on administrative leave until the investigations are over.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County deputy involved in shooting Gainesville La Quinta Inn
