John Jefferson
Background: The home of the Sulpizio family in Lake County, Fla. (YouTube/WKMG). Insets top to bottom: Master Deputy Sheriff Bradley Michael Link, Julie Sulpizio (Lake County Sheriff’s Office).
Prosecutors want the Florida woman who allegedly plotted the fatal ambush of police at her home to face the death penalty.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Julie Sulpizio, 48, allegedly “convinced” Lake County Master Deputy Sheriff Bradley Michael Link, 28, along with deputies Harold Howell, 41, and Stefano Gargano, 28, on Aug. 2 at around 7:45 p.m. to go to her home to check on her husband and two children.
When the deputies entered the house, they were met with a hail of gunfire, allegedly from Sulpizio’s husband, Michael Sulpizio, who is believed to have been on the couch, “waiting to ambush deputies,” according to Sheriff Peyton Grinnell. Link was struck in the back multiple times, while Howell and Gargano were both injured. Julie Sulpizio has been charged with first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, seven counts of attempted murder, felony battery/strangulation, two counts of battery and battery on a law enforcement officer.
Court records show that prosecutors are going for the maximum possible sentence in the Sunshine State.
“[B]ased on the facts known by the State at this time, the State intends to seek the death penalty in the event Defendant is found guilty of First-Degree Murder,” a notice filed Tuesday says. Among the “aggravating factors” are the fact that Sulpizio “knowingly created a great risk of death to many persons” and that her victim “was a law enforcement officer engaged in the performance of his or her official duties,” the filing says.
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During the standoff, deputies had tried to negotiate with the suspects to rescue Link, but the suspects allegedly refused.
“My king will kill all of you,” a woman inside the home allegedly yelled. “You are Lucifer’s children.”
As a SWAT team entered the home with a ballistic shield to get Link, it was met with another volley of bullets, Grinnell said. Gargano was shot through a wall multiple times with a high-caliber weapon. Deputies retrieved Gargano and removed him from the home under heavy gunfire.
After one of the suspects mentioned suicide, cops heard two gunshots followed by a third. The SWAT team reportedly used a battering ram to knock down the front wall of the home. Police found two women — 23-year-old Savannah Sulpizio and 22-year-old Cheyenne Sulpizio — dead on the couch from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Officials also found Michael Sulpizio suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police found more than 20 firearms, ranging from pistols to high-caliber rifles, inside the home, along with ammunition that had been “gathered, placed and staged in the living room,” Grinnell said. Gas masks, body armor, medical bags, and MREs were also found, as were “anti-government propaganda” and “conspiracy-theory media.”
During her interview with detectives, Julie Sulpizio reportedly claimed to be God and said that God speaks through her. She allegedly stated that she was trying to lure the neighbors to her home so that her husband could kill them.
Jail records show that Sulpizio remains detained without bond.
Law&Crime’s David Harris contributed to this report.
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