C. A. BridgesUSA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
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A Eustis woman has been arrested and charged with murder in the violent, unexpected firefight that killed one Lake County Sheriff's deputy Friday night and left two more injured.
Three people in the household also died during what Lake County SheriffPeyton Grinnell described as an "ambush" at Brookside Drive in Eustis' Orlando Hills neighborhood.
“We went to a disturbance at one house — the initial call was for a disturbance — and then, while we were on that scene, somebody at that scene told the deputies they needed to go to the other house, that that’s where there was a problem happening,” Grinnell said at a Saturday morning news conference.
Julie Sulpizio, also known as Julia Jefferson, 48, was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder of a late enforcement officer along with 11 other charges.
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What happened in the deputy shooting in Eustis?
Deputies responded to a 911 call on Aug. 2 from Sulpizio's neighbors, who said she was harassing them and trying to lead them back to her house.
"This turned physical, as the trespasser, later identified as Julie Sulpizio, began striking the complainant's wife, his father and others," Grinnell said at a press conference Monday. "The complainant stated she (Sulpizio) was 'acting religious,' accusing them of being sinners, and she said that she knows what they did."
The neighbors told deputies that Sulpizio's husband Michael had told their neighbors' children a few days previously, "The next time I see you, I'm going to shoot you."
Sulpizio resisted requests to back off. When a deputy raised a Taser she called it "God's light." She fell and while the deputy was trying to keep her there she said he was only making her madder. She yelled out, "Michael, Gabriel, Timothy, it's time now to protect my children," Grinnell said.
The deputies found two dead dogs by the Sulpizio's front door, and three people inside the building could be seen moving away but no one responded to attempts to communicate, Grinnell said. An open window had the screen kicked out. Deputies called for backup and, as it arrived, continued to identify themselves and entered.
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Who was the Florida deputy who was killed?
Master Deputy Bradley Link, 28, was gunned down as he entered the living room and he tried to return fire, Grinnell said. His body cam later showed the shots coming from the couch, where Michael Sulpizio was. Master Deputy Sheriff Harold Howellwas shot in the wrist while attempting to suppress the gunfire, the sheriff said. Howell and the other deputies were forced to retreat. Link was then shot several more times, Grinnell said.
A firefight ensued between occupants in the house and deputies outside as more law enforcement arrived. The suspects refused to negotiate or release Link's body, Grinnell said.
According to the sheriff, Link's body cam, reviewed later, captured a woman's voice yelling as she racked a firearm, "My king will kill all of you. You are Lucifer's children."
Deputies and members of the SWAT team used a ballistic shield to enter the home again to retrieve Link. Deputy First Class Stefano Gargano was shot through a wall several times by a high-caliber round, Grinnell said, and the other deputies were able to get him outside. As a SWAT team made plans to enter, Link's body cam captured a woman talking about suicide, Grinnell said.
Two gunshots were heard, and then another, the sheriff said. When the SWAT team broke through a wall to retrieve Link, they found Julie Sulpizio's daughters, Cheyenne 22, and Savannah, 23, on the couch dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head, Grinnell said. Michael Sulpizio, wearing black body armor, was also there with a similar wound but was still alive. He died later at the hospital.
Although at least seven deputies returned fire, Lt. John Herrell said, "there is no indication that (the suspects) were struck with any return fire from our deputies.”
Julie Sulpizio was detained before the shootings began, under the state's Baker Act. In her interview, she claimed that she was God, Michael was the guardian angel Michael, and "she was trying to lure the neighbors to her residence so that Michael could kill them," Grinnell said.
"She was not successful because of our deputies," he said.
Who died in the deputy shooting in Eustis?
- Master Deputy Sheriff Bradley Michael Link was killed in the altercation.
- Michael Sulpizio, Cheyenne Sulpizio, and Savannah Sulpizio died of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head.
Master Deputy Sheriff Harold Howell and Deputy First Class Stefano Gargano were injured. Both men are undergoing treatment and are expected to make full recoveries.
The Florida Deputy Sheriffs Association is selling Lake County Strong T-shirts to support the families of Lake County Deputies Bradley Link, Stefano Gargano, and Harold Howell, the LCSO said.
How many weapons were found at the home in Eustis? What else was found?
Deputies with a search warrant found more than 20 firearms, ranging from high-caliber rifles to pistols and shotguns, Grinnell, said, staged in the living room area with stockpiles of ammunition.
"A search of the house showed gas masks, body armor, ghillie (camouflage) suits, medical bags, bug-out bags, MREs, and bottled water stockpiles," Grinnell said. "Around the residence, anti-government propaganda was observed, along with conspiracy theory-related media."
Deputies found no drugs beyond medical marijuana, but found "bumper stickers, stickers, handouts, flyers for Info Wars, various podcasts," but no personal writings or suggestions yet that the family was part of a larger network, a detective said. The LCSO and the FBI are still collecting and investigating evidence, he said.
Where in Florida is Eustis?
Eustis is an incorporated city in Lake County, about 40 miles north of Orlando next to Mount Dora and Tavares, nicknamed "America's Hometown."
