A homeless woman in Leesburg who was being arrested for trespassing behind a building tried holding onto a guardrail to avoid detainment.
Officers responded to a building in Leesburg, located at 1340 Citizens Blvd., regarding a report of a tent or camp set up on the backside of the property around 10:08 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. Upon arrival, they found an unidentified man and 40-year-old Lyvette Aileen King. She and the tent were present on the adjoining property of 1004 N. 14th St., the report said.
Following a check of King’s identifying information, dispatch advised that she was previously trespassed from 1004 N. 14th St. on April 13 by an LPD officer pursuant to a trespass warning authorization. Said authorization expressly allowed the LPD and its officers to issue trespass warnings on the property owner’s behalf, as well as make arrests for violations of the Florida Statute prohibiting the crime of trespass on the property, the report said.
After receiving this information, the officers relocated King at 900 N. 14th St. She was near the entrance of the building, the report said.
An officer then told her that she was previously trespassed from the location they had just left. He advised her that she was being detained for trespassing after warning and gave her the order to stand up and place her hands behind her back. She immediately became irate and began saying obscenities, the report said.
King was verbally abusive and backed away when the officer approached her to detain her. He gave her several orders to comply with her detention, otherwise he would have to take further physical action, and she could receive another charge. She continued to back away and said she was not going to comply instead, the report said.
The officer tried to gain physical control of King by grabbing her arms, at which point she turned to him and evaded his grab. She then held onto a guard rail near the stairs of the building and refused to place her hands behind her back. She resisted his attempt to move her hands, the report said.
The officer demanded King once again to comply with the detention or else he would have to forcefully remove her from the rails. She continued to resist, so he removed her hands from the guardrail and moved her to the walkway floor. She kept cursing and being verbally abusive toward him but ceased resisting, the report said.
The officer was able to place King in handcuffs at that point, and she was taken to the front of his patrol car to be pat searched. She was then put in the back of his patrol car where she continued to be verbally abusive. She stated several unintelligible things throughout the remainder of the interaction, the report said.
King was charged with trespass after warning and resisting (obstructing without violence). The Louisiana native was transported to Lake County Jail and released on her own recognizance. She is responsible for appearing in court on Nov. 26.