BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Telegraph Staff Writer
AND TRACY LEE TATE
Times Staff Writer
LAKE BUTLER— A Starke woman, a Lake Butler man, and five Gainesville residents were arrested in connection with a popup party that deputies say descended into a drug and alcohol binge Saturday in Lake Butler.
The gathering also resulted in one person shot, several roads blocked, and deputies using chemical agents to chase away the out-of-towners.
Union County Chief Deputy Lyn Williams said his agency was first notified about potential trouble when the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office told Union officials that Alachua deputies and code enforcement officials had broken up a gathering of hundreds at Lake Alto Park near Waldo.
The organizer of the event then posted on social media the address of Lakeside Park in Lake Butler, directing partygoers to Union County.
“We had almost no notice of what was coming,” said Williams, “because about the time we got the call, people started arriving at the park.”
The chief deputy added that his agency immediately called in off-duty officers and jail staff, around 25 people.
Every corner of the city shut down
Sheriff Brad Whitehead said social media played a large part in the incident.
“This was a situation that was incited by social media,” Whitehead said. “I want to thank Sheriff Gordon Smith and all the personnel from Bradford County for their quick response and assistance. I also want to send a message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Union County. We will protect our residents from lawlessness and public endangerment at all times.”
Williams said that as the crowd ballooned, Lake Butler Mayor Annette Redman, City Manager Richard Tillis and three city commissioners met at the park and agreed to close the facilty.
Williams said the participants then broke up into smaller groups, marauding around Lake Butler blocking roads, and creating disturbances.
“They purposely jammed our roads,” said Williams. “When we would shut them down at the lake, they would move around to Laredo’s, Main Street, McDonald’s, Spires, Skips Deli, and other locations.”
“Every corner of the city was effectively shut down at some point,” added Lake Butler City Commissioner Melissa Hendrix, who was on hand during the crisis.
She was also one of six people who took on the massive task of cleaning up Lakeside Park after the crowd was cleared.
“We picked up all the trash that had been left, including many beer and liquor bottles and syringes,” she said.
When Union deputies realized they could not keep up with the roving groups, they called in help from Bradford County, which sent around an additional 25 officers. Williams said Starke Police and Fish and Wildlife officers were also on standby in case more help was needed.
The chief deputy said reinforcements were also needed for dispatch because of the number of calls coming in. He added that the 911 reports from residents helped deputies track the movements of the groups.
Williams said the only interaction between town residents and the partygoers was videos taken by residents.
Lake Butler man shot
Williams said that as officers converged on the park to disperse the crowd, two fights broke out among attendees. Deputies were busy breaking up the melees when four or five shots rang out, and the massive group scattered for cover.
The shots occurred on the park’s west side, near the facility’s boat ramp.
An 18-year-old Lake Butler man was hit in the pelvis and buttocks. Williams said the victim has undergone two major surgeries for his injuries but that the wounds remain non-life threatening.
Nearly ran over deputy
During the five-hour incident, deputies made seven arrests.
Betty Taniyah Amahni Carn, 21, of Starke was arrested for resisting an officer without violence.
According to an arrest report, Carn was the driver of a Dodge Charger, one of two vehicles Bradford SWAT members stopped during traffic enforcement.
Officers told Carn to leave the area and not to return while they turned their attention to the second vehicle stopped.
“I observed the vehicle drive approximately 100 yards east and turn around,” wrote arresting deputy Clyde N. Berringer in the report. “Betty returned to the scene, parking on the opposite side of the highway, partially on the grass and on the highway, and stated, “I need to check on my friend.”
Berringer added that he arrested the 21-year-old because she returned to the scene after being ordered not to come back and that she made the scene unsafe because her vehicle partially blocked the roadway.
Brantley Keith Taylor, 38, of Lake Butler was arrested for disorderly conduct.
Deputy Erik L. Krueger wrote in an arrest report that while he was trying to disperse a crowd gathered the Spires IGA Market, Taylor, a white male on a bicycle, approached the lawman’s patrol vehicle and blocked Southwest First Street with his two-wheeler.
“While approaching my patrol vehicle, Taylor was yelling derogatory remarks, and motioned for me to shut my sirens off,” Krueger wrote. “I placed my vehicle in park and made contact with Taylor, who continued to yell.”
The deputy added that he removed the defendant from the bike, placed him into handcuffs, and took him to jail.
Donneya Robinson, 22, of Gainesville was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Berringer wrote in an arrest report that he saw Robinson and Bradford Sgt. Scott Konkell in a verbal dispute at West Main Street and Southwest 6th Avenue, an intersection surrounded by Skip’s Deli, Shatto Heating and Air, McDonald’s, and Spires.
According to Berringer, Konkel ordered Robinson to turn south onto Southwest 6th Avenue because of a traffic tie-up. Robinson refused to comply with Konkel’s order and also rebuffed his command for her to exit the vehicle.
“Sergeant Konkle delivered a one-second burst of Oleoresin Capsicum in an attempt to gain compliance,” reported Berringer. “He then attempted to open the driver’s door of the vehicle. When Sergeant Konkle attempted this, Donneya immediately sped off, causing Sergeant Konkle to lose his balance and nearly being run over by the back left tire of the vehicle.”
Deputies stopped the defendant in the Spires parking lot and took her into custody.
Emily Rose Kilgore, 22, of Gainesville was arrested for resisting an officer.
Deputy Berringer wrote that Kilgore was a passenger in Robinson’s vehicle and that after the driver stopped in the Spires parking lot, Kilgore got out of the car and started walking toward the store.
“I ordered her several times to stop and cease her movement, but (she) refused all my orders,” wrote Berringer. “I gained control of her left hand and placed it behind her back, Emily refused to place her right hand behind her back.”
Berringer added that he put Kilgore on the ground to gain compliance with his orders, placed the defendant in handcuffs, and transported her to jail.
Arrested for dancing
Tanajaha D. Edison, 24, of Gainesville was arrested for resisting an officer, and Malik Retron Hamm, 26, of Gainesville was arrested for disorderly conduct.
Krueger wrote in arrest reports that dispatch sent him to the Fast Track convenience store at the corner of East Main Street and Southeast 6th Street to respond to a disturbance within the business.
There he found Hamm pouring milk onto his head and face.
“Malik Hamm appeared to have a chemical agent applied to his face from a prior law enforcement incident, where he was refusing to disperse,” wrote the deputy. “According to the clerk, Malik and an unknown female were engaging in a verbal altercation and creating a disturbance.”
Krueger reported that he arrested Hamm for disorderly conduct, and as he was placing the defendant into the back of his patrol vehicle, a female, later identified as Edison, approached him aggressively, demanding to know what was going on.
“I advised the female why Malik was under arrest and advised her to leave the area,” Krueger wrote. “The female refused multiple times to leave the area and attempted to open my patrol car where the suspect was secured.”
Krueger then put Edison in handcuffs, and another officer transported the 24-year-old to jail.
Chalilah Andrea Ross, 31, of Gainesville was arrested for resisting an officer.
In an arrest report, Deputy Lowell A. Green wrote that Ross was an occupant in one of the cars parked at the Kangaroo convenience store at the corner of Southwest 6th Street and Southwest 6th Avenue.
“Multiple deputies were utilized to disperse the traffic,” wrote Green. “When a vehicle was ordered to leave the gas station by Bradford County Lieutenant Sweeney, an unknown occupant, later identified as Chililah Ross, exited the vehicle and began ‘twerking’ on the roof of the car.”
“Due to Ross’ blatant disregard for the law by beginning to dance instead of leaving the gas station when ordered to do so,” added the deputy, “Ross is being charged with F.S.S. 843.02 – Obstruct/Resist without violence.”
She knows we are after her
Williams said the chemical agents used in the incident were all hand-held devices that officers used to get people to leave town.
“We had no intention of hurting anyone,” he said. “We were just trying to get them to leave. Many times, we were spraying at their feet to minimize the effects of the chemicals.”
Williams said officers regained control of the city around 9 p.m
He added that his agency is now focused on building a case against the organizer of the incident.
“She knows we are after her,” the chief deputy said. “She has deleted all the social media posts she made about the incident.”
Williams vowed that sooner or later, the instigator of the chaos would be brought to justice.
“There may not be an arrest today or tomorrow,” he said, “but we will get her.”
