2 OC Sheriffs shot near WDW

[PhotoDave219]

Thankfully they're okay.

2 deputies shot at resort along tourist corridor near Disney

Three suspects were involved in the shooting, official says.

Walter Pacheco, April Hunt and Henry Pierson Curtis
Sentinel Staff Writers

May 30, 2007

Scores of law enforcement converged this morning at a resort near Walt Disney World where two deputies were shot.

Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Solomons confirmed that one deputy was shot in the arm and the other in the vest shortly after 11 a.m. at the Caribe Royale Resort at 8101 World Center Drive.

Both men were airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The sheriff's office has identified the injured deputies as Curtis Barnes and John Siller.

Barnes, 42, suffered a gunshot to his right arm. The school resource officer had just celebrated his three-year anniversary on the force on May 14.

Siller, 40, was shot in the chest, but his protective vest appears to have prevented a serious, if not fatal, wound. Siller also is a school resource officer who has been on the force since 1995.

The deputies interrupted three suspects in the middle of an auto burglary, and at least one of the suspects opened fire on Barnes and Siller. The deputies were executing a tactical retreat when they were shot. Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Carlos Padilla said he did not know whether the deputies were able to draw their weapons or return fire. Of the three suspects, only one was known to have a gun, he said.

Two of the suspects were captured shortly after the shooting, on or near resort property. The third man was arrested at a nearby apartment complex after an extensive search. None of the men was carrying identification, Padilla said.

Law enforcement officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Florida Highway Patrol, Orlando Police Department, and SWAT Team members, among others, gathered outside the resort where some of the state's top officials, including Attorney General Bill McCollum, will be meeting to discuss homicide rates, arrest and incarceration and poverty and violence.

McCollum said in a statement it was "tragic irony" that the crime happened at the same location where Georgia and Florida officials were to convene Thursday to discuss the plight of minority communities.

"I hope this sobering incident will serve to encourage the conference's attendees in their efforts to address the crimes that are tearing apart their neighborhoods and communities and prevent those crimes from continuing to occur," McCollum said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will assist in the shooting investigation.

Check back for more details.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[slappy magoo]

Those who would shoot a policeman will shoot anybody! A short trial, conviction and then hook'em up to old smokey.

Well, we've gone from "No trial at all" to "short trial, conviction and then hook'em to old smokey."

That's...progress?

 

[sbkline]

Well, we've gone from "No trial at all" to "short trial, conviction and then hook'em to old smokey."

That's...progress?

It's not progress at all, but on a lighter note, I can't help getting a good chuckle out of it. Every time I re-read the bit about "old smokey", for some reason, I have to sit in my chair and get a good giggle. :ROFLOL:

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

Theres a difference between the Witch hunt and someone who shoots two officers and runs. If they were innocent, it's highly unlikely they would be hiding out in the woods. What, with our fair judicial system, they would feel totally safe waiting around to tell other responding officers they were innocent.

Let me ask, do you think there have more people wrongly executed in the name of justice(false or not), than there have been cold blooded killers getting away with murder because they know they can?

Totally off topic, but...

Just because I'm a smart*** and well versed in certain things, the Salem Witch trials were not a witchhunt.

 

[wedway71]

Ok heres my 2 cents worth.

I might make some people mad but here it goes anyway..

First of I feel horrible for the shootings and I think the men who did this need to be punished.Punished according to the laws of the State of Florida.First they need to have a trial and given representation.If they are found guilty by their peers than they should be sentenced accordingly.

I have heard many pros and cons of our justice system in here.Personal feelings aside, they are innocent until proven guilty. These laws have been in effect for many years and set up by our forefathers to ensure that noone goes to jail or more importantly gets executed wrongfully.

The guys who did this are SCUMBAGS and should suffer the full arm of the law.I know the laws in place are far from perfect but Id rather have these laws in place than alot of other countries out there.

When I was in the Air Force and stationed in the Middle east you would be in shock to see how other justice sytems work.

Some examples that are totally barbaric(but legal)

a-If you are caught cheating on your husband in some countries you are buried up to your chest and stoned to death.

b-caught stealing????? try it with one hand after they cut your hand off.

c-have a different sexual orientation? you can hang from the gallows for this.

d-charged with murder? can get throat cut in public or beheaded(not the quick way either)take a knife and saw it off.

Ok so again our laws are far from perfect but im thankful im here.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Updated story...... Of interest, since when did Disney get its own K-9 team?

2 deputies shot: 'A tragic irony'

The victims, patrolling an anti-crime event, are treated and released. Three suspects are jailed.

Henry Pierson Curtis
Sentinel Staff Writer

May 31, 2007

One big question remained after car burglars shot and wounded two Orange County deputies in a resort parking lot Wednesday while educators, law-enforcement officials and social workers gathered at the hotel for a national conference on crime.

Why would anyone risk a death sentence for killing a cop in Florida over a simple property crime?

That's what senior investigators standing outside the Caribe Royale Resort on World Center Drive continued to ponder hours after the 11:10 a.m. shooting.

The three burglars were brazen enough to break into a sport utility vehicle within view of at least a dozen patrol cars parked outside a convention hall hosting the 22nd National Conference on Preventing Crime in the Black Community.

State Attorney General Bill McCollum, keynote speaker for the conference that begins today, called the shooting a "tragic irony."

"I hope this sobering incident will serve to encourage the conference's attendees in their efforts to address the crimes that are tearing apart their neighborhoods and communities and prevent those crimes from continuing to occur," McCollum said.

Sheriff Kevin Beary gave a much more personal view after visiting the wounded deputies at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

"People better wake up. I've got two cops lying in there, and I'm a little ed," Beary said. "I'll bet you a paycheck these guys are multitime offenders."

Beary said Deputies Curtis Barnes and John Siller came upon the car burglary in progress and "walked into a hornet's nest. . . . One guy was just relentless in pulling the trigger."

One bullet hit Barnes, 42, in the right arm. Another hit Siller, 40, on the left side of his chest, which was protected by a bulletproof vest, according to the Sheriff's Office.

"He's going to be bruised up pretty good and sore, but the vest saved his life," spokesman Deputy Carlos Padilla said.

The number of shots fired by the suspects and the deputies was not released Wednesday as the investigation continued late into the evening. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement responded to help investigate but withdrew after learning none of the shots fired by deputies struck the suspects.

A pistol thought to have been dropped by one of the three burglary suspects was found by deputies in the parking lot behind Tower III at the Caribe Royale Resort. A vehicle thought to have been used by the trio was found and seized as well.

Deputies captured two of the three suspects in the parking lot. The third was captured about a half-mile away, 90 minutes after the shootings, when deputies and K-9 teams tracked him north along State Road 535, the Sheriff's Office said.

As Beary had predicted, the suspects turned out to be repeat offenders.

Lenlonnie Lyndairien Clark, 25, had been arrested at least 25 times, records show. Most of the charges involved drug possession, car theft and one count of armed robbery.

Ernest "Countryboy" Simmons, 23, previously had been arrested at least 12 times on charges including car theft, burglary and carrying a concealed firearm, records show.

Juan D. Rivera, 18, had been arrested four times on charges including possession of counterfeit money and car theft.

The outcome of those cases could not be immediately determined Wednesday night.

All three were charged with two counts each of attempted murder of a law-enforcement officer, a life felony. Other charges are pending. They are being held at the Orange County Jail without bail.

Participants arriving to register for the conference said the shooting was symptomatic of violence facing many communities across the country, regardless of race.

"It makes me think we need to do more as a community to curtail these violent acts," said Steven Miller, a probation officer with the state Department of Juvenile Justice in Palm Beach County. "I believe in a village concept where we work together."

Within minutes of the shooting, caravans of patrol cars from many of the cities and towns in Orange and Osceola counties raced toward the Caribe Royale's convention center.

Joining them were undercover drug agents with long hair and ratty beards who pulled on sheriff's gear to join an armed cordon that prevented anyone from leaving the hotel near the corner of World Center Drive and State Road 535.

A K-9 team from Walt Disney World security also showed up, along with FBI agents and the Florida Highway Patrol, as sheriff's helicopters circled overhead looking for the third suspect.

An unidentified detective from Osceola told Orange sheriff's officials that the suspects may be the same men sought in a recent string of car burglaries along U.S. Highway 192.

Car burglaries in Orange County's tourist district around International Drive are what prompted the Sheriff's Office to assign Barnes and Siller to patrol the Caribe Royale's parking lots during registration and the conference on crime.

Both wounded deputies were treated and released from ORMC late Wednesday afternoon, the Sheriff's Office said.

Walter Pacheco and April Hunt of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Henry Pierson Curtis can be reached at hcurtis@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5257.

 

[slappy magoo]

As being a Police Officer who has almost been killed in the line of duty by a subject dousing him with gasoline and then trying to light him on fire..I actually will agree with you..there needs to be a long trial that is placed in the public spotlight so that when he is hammered to the wall the public will realize that this type of behavior will be not be tolerated. However I have never met one person that shot at a cop without the intention of killing him..and why because they were in the wrong. Bad cop or not the suspect always causes the reaction they get! Sorry but you hit a nerve. But you shouldn't speculate on something that hasn't happened to you. And if you feel that way then I encourage you to get out here an put your life on the line everyday. Then you MIGHT understand why people are more willing to just throw them under the jail than waste the tax payers money.

as for me here is a link to what happened even though it is just a little blurb..only thing left from a year ago hah!

http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=5506199&nav=menu91_2

I'm not exactly sure how putting my life on the line everyday would be a good thing in regards to this subject, though my girth would make an excellent human shield for innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of a shootout. But even if being a cop did alter my perception, seems to me the framers of the Constitution KNEW people's experiences would alter their perception of what's justice and perhaps not for the better. This is why they include all their mumbo jumbo about being innocent until proven guilty, trial by jury, representation, etc.

I could add, hypothetically speaking, if YOU were in a situation that appeared to be bad for you - ie, it looks like you shot & killed an unarmed suspect, you claimed he had a weapon but none is found, the suspect was an underage minority to boot, the public is calling you one of those few bad apples that spoils the force - wouldn't you want me to give you the benefit of the doubt?

Or while speaking hypothetically, if I myself had a bad experience, or multiple bad experiences, regarding cops - if I had to deal with actual Bad Apples who for whatever crazy reason choose to treat me like the subject of a crime, threaten me with no witnesses present, make me fear for my life until I snap and try to run or attack in self-defense and then they haul me in for evasion and/or aggravated assault, would you want me going around thinking all cops are jerks?

I don't want to get any more crazy with the hypotheticals, and I certainly don't want to sound like I'm defending these three guys in Florida. More and more it looks like there were no extenuating circumstances, no overly dramatic, highly-improbable scenario where they were thrust into a situation where they had no choice but to fire, and of course, I never definitively said that there was or would be. All I ever meant was that everyone deserves their day in court, that to make a snap judgment about this situation, as clear-cut as it may seem, only makes it easier to make snap judgments about other situations later on, and sooner or later that snap judgment could be wrong, so to try to prevent that wrong snap judgment from occuring, no one accused of a crime should be denied a trial. Because one day - probably not, but one day - that presumption of innocence until proven guilty could benefit any single one of us. If we'd want that presumption for ourselves, everyone has to have it.

Now having said that, if these guys are guilty of the crime for which they've been accused, I'm all for the throwing away of the key. I'm not so liberal that I wouldn't want dangerous people locked up to protect the greater good. I just want them to have their day in court, too.

 

[tr1plese7en]

I used to live at Chatham and while I was on the program there was a shooting at Caribe Royale. It's weird how it happened again at the same place and not even a year later.

 

[bayoutinkbelle]

Thanks for the story, PhotoDave. It mentions something that crossed my mind last night while thinking about this story.

When I was in Orlando last October, a local TV station had a report on about a car burglary ring operating in the I-Drive area. When I heard about this, I wondered if it might be connected.

And well said, slappy!

 

[daklimation]

Updated story...... Of interest, since when did Disney get its own K-9 team?

They inspect every unattended bag now, usually they just look through it, but if there's anything suspicious they go backstage and grab a dog. We see the K-9 cars all the time backstage now.

 

[ImaYoyo]

They inspect every unattended bag now, usually they just look through it, but if there's anything suspicious they go backstage and grab a dog. We see the K-9 cars all the time backstage now.

Yep. The K9 unit has been around for some time, but recently expanded in April.