Georgia woman who was shot by deputy at motel is now in custody on aggravated assault charges
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Calixta Mireya Lara, 30, of Stockbridge, GA, has been taken into custody on three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer; Lara was shot by an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy on January 8 during a well-being check.
Deputies responded to the LaQuinta Hotel at 908 NW 69th Terrace on January 8 after hotel staff requested a well-being check on Lara, who was supposed to check out of the hotel on January 6 but told staff on that date that she was too sick to leave her room; hotel staff had been unable to make contact with her since that date, and the door of her hotel room was locked from inside with a deadbolt.
Deputies reportedly knocked on the door and made verbal announcements, but there was no response. Because Lara had said she was sick, the decision was made to force entry to make sure there was no medical emergency. When deputies entered, they reportedly found the bathroom door locked, and a handgun holster and a spent shell casing were found on the bed; a single bullet hole was seen in the curtain and on a window.
Deputies did not hear any sounds from the bathroom, so they made forced entry into the bathroom and reportedly saw Lara standing inside the bathroom, facing the deputies, holding a handgun pointed at her own temple. Deputies ordered her to drop the gun, and she allegedly moved the gun to point it at the deputies. A single shot was fired by a deputy to prevent her from shooting the deputies, and once Lara’s gun was secured, emergency medical personnel entered the room and provided emergency aid. She was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
Lara has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault on law enforcement officers. She has no criminal history; Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $750,000, the amount recommended by Judge James Colaw on the warrant for her arrest.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Charging an obviously suicidal woman with multiple felonies after she was shot in the neck. Pathetic.
Your right they need more target practice Aim at center mass
She pointed a gun at them she should be charged
You ever heard of suicide by cop, that’s what she was pointing the gun at them for but I just love it when cops shoot a person wanting to kill themselves to help them.
Use to be years ago, this type of action was done as a back-door way to give help with some sort of mental health/rehab/etc support.
Don’t know what’s going on, hope it’s about helping and not about making a statement…also not trying to set up a scenario to justify the shooting and get out of a lawsuit.
Isn’t this one of the “homeless hotels”?
The La Quinta behind Red Lobster is a homeless hotel?
It’s ridiculous that she was charged, she needs mental help the cops need to do better