State says deadly force justified in shooting death in The Villages

The State Attorney's Office has decided not to pursue criminal charges against two sheriff's deputies in the death of a man late last year. The man had fought with a deputy and taken her Taser, according to official accounts.

Chief Assistant State Attorney Walter Forgie wrote in his report: "The use of deadly force by these deputies was reasonable, and therefore lawful, under these circumstances."

Forgie cited two state statutes. The first, 776.05, "authorizes law enforcement officers to use any force which he or she reasonably believes necessary to defend him or herself or another from bodily harm while making an arrest." The second, 776.012, "authorizes an individual to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself, herself or another."

The deceased was identified as Edwards Charles Townsend III, 35, of South Carolina.

The prosecutor's office made its decision based on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation of the case.

According to Forgie's report, deputies were called to the 17100 block of Southeast 71st Lewisfield Terrace in The Villages to investigate a dispute on Dec. 29, 2022.

A dispatcher told deputies the caller, listed as Townsend, was uncooperative and threatening to get a gun and shoot someone.

The report says a deputy tried to detain Townsend when he refused to comply with verbal commands. He also physically resisted. This led to a struggle between the deputies and Townsend.

"The struggle went to the ground, where Townsend repeatedly struck multiple deputies," according to the report. The report said Townsend's actions constituted "multiple forcible felonies."

During the fight, Townsend grabbed one deputy's Taser. The deputy yelled, "He's got my Taser," making reference to Townsend. A deputy fired one gunshot, hitting Townsend in the back, the report states.

Townsend was transported to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital on Dec. 29 and died on Jan. 24, 2023. If Townsend had survived, he would have been charged with depriving a law enforcement official of means of protection or communication, which is a felony, and resisting without violence, a misdemeanor, Forgie wrote.

The Medical Examiner's Office report lists Townsend's cause of death as complications of gunshot wound to the back and abdomen, and the manner as homicide.

Detective Joseph Miller wrote in his report that Townsend called 911 and wanted a deputy to get his car keys so he could leave. The dispatcher said Townsend was "not very cooperative" and "does not listen."

Townsend made reference to guns and people entering his car. He told the dispatcher that he "was going to get a gun and shoot the subjects."

Authorities said the "subjects" were Townsend's family members, who were at the residence.

After the shooting, an FDLE agent interviewed one of the deputies. The report, with the deputies' names redacted, only identified the deputy as a woman.

The female deputy said she arrived at the location as a backup for the other deputy, who is a man. Prior to her arriving at the scene, the woman deputy said, she was told that Townsend had talked about arming himself.

The woman deputy said her colleague tried to detain Townsend and there was a physical altercation. She said she had her Taser and she and the male deputy tried to grab Townsend's hands. During the struggle, she said, Townsend was able to get on top of her and took her Taser.

"She called out repeatedly, communicating with deputy (redacted name) stating that the subject had her Taser, at which point deputy (redacted name) shot the subject one time," according to the FDLE report.

The other deputy declined to be interviewed by the FDLE agent.

Miller listened to two recordings. One was an FDLE agent interviewing Townsend's mother, Lissa Hostomosky. The other was the 911 call made by Townsend.

With the interview, Hostomosky said she didn't know that her son had called 911. She said he was intoxicated at the time of the incident. She also said her son is mentally unstable and needs help.

Hostomosky said they were unable to help him, and he had been arrested in South Carolina. She added that, at the time of this incident, her son was out of jail on bond for a charge of fleeing and eluding law enforcement officials.

The detective said he was unable to interview any of Townsend's family members because they were asleep. One other family member declined to be interviewed, according to the report.

In the 911 call, Townsend said he heard family members going into his car and slamming doors. He talked about getting his car keys and he heard gunshots. Although the 911 operator told Townsend to wait for deputies, Townsend questioned if he should get his gun and shoot them.

While the dispatcher and Townsend were on their phone, the first deputy, the man, arrived and Townsend disconnected the call.

Miller reviewed footage from the deputies' body cameras. It showed the male deputy arriving at the location, knocking and yelling at the front of the house. No one answered. Then, Townsend is seen coming toward the deputy.

The deputy attempted to detain Townsend, who refused. The second deputy, the woman, arrived and tried to assist her colleague.

"Both deputies can be heard giving clear concise commands to the subject to 'get on the ground,' " the report states.

The woman deputy is heard saying "she is going to get her Taser," and tells Townsend "let go now." The Taser is activated. She's heard saying, "he's got my Taser" three times. While she's talking about her Taser, the device kept activating, according to the report. Her voice grew "louder and more frantic."

"The situation was de-escalated with a lethal use of force. Both deputies then begin to provide aid to the suspect and call for further help," Miller wrote in the report.

With the videos and the recordings, Miller felt there had been probable cause to arrest Townsend.

Townsend was taken to the hospital, but he was not interviewed because he was in surgeries, according to the report.

Even though Townsend was still hospitalized, his information was entered into the jail's database on Dec. 31.

On Jan. 3, Miller interviewed Hostomosky. She said a family member told her that someone had been knocking on the door. She said she was going to bed and did not immediately go to the door.

She said she eventually went outside and went to where the deputies' vehicles were parked. There, she said, she saw a "male deputy punching Edward Townsend III like a punching bag." Hostomosky said Townsend and the deputy "went to the ground, almost knocking her over."

Miller notes that video from a body camera showed one deputy tried to detain Townsend and Townsend was resisting. It also revealed that both deputies were attempting to detain Townsend.

Continuing with the interview, Hostomosky said she's not sure which deputy deployed a Taser her son. She said she heard the Taser going off and her son had reached toward the deputy who had the Taser. Hostomsky said she heard the female deputy yelling that her son had the Taser. She said she didn't see her son take the Taser. Then she heard a gunshot.

The woman said she doesn't know why her son called 911, and there was no altercation involving anyone at the residence. She said he was visiting her.

On Jan. 4, according to Miller, a lawyer, John Whitaker, gave him pictures of injuries suffered by the female deputy. The pictures showed she had injuries to her lower legs. The deputy did not realize she was injured until after her shift ended, according to the report.

Whitaker could not be reached for comment. Hostomosky declined comment to a Star-Banner reporter when contacted.

The family's lawyer, Robert Rush, told a Star-Banner reporter that the deputies "should've never used deadly force on this man," referring to Townsend. He called it "excessive."

On Jan. 6, Miller went to the hospital to interview Townsend. The detective went to Townsend's room, but Townsend declined to be interviewed. FDLE agents were at the hospital, and Townsend refused to speak to them, as well.

Miller got a search warrant on Jan. 18 to get a DNA sample from Townsend. The detective went to the hospital on Jan. 19. The detective said in the report that Townsend was unable to talk. The DNA taken from Townsend was by mouth.

The DNA sample was sent to the FDLE laboratory for testing. The DNA was going to be compared to the swab from the deputy's taser.

The deputies involved in the incident have invoked Marsy's Law, which forbids the official release of a victim's information. The only information provided by the MCSO about the deputies is that one is a man, and the other is a woman.

The male deputy is no longer with the agency, Sheriff's Office officials said. Authorities said he left the department a few months ago to pursue other interests, and the move wasn't related to the shooting. The woman deputy is back on the road, MCSO officials said.

Cleared:Marion County deputies cleared in fatal shooting of man in November 2021

Since 2017, there have been eight deputy-involved shootings. Six have been fatal and the remaining two individuals suffered serious injuries. Those two injured people were charged with various offenses.

Though the state has cleared the deputies, the sheriff's office will look at the shooting to see if any policies or procedures were violated.

Contact Austin L. Miller at [email protected] or @almillerosb