TAVARES, FL (352today.com) – A grand jury found there is enough evidence to charge a Eustis woman with murder in the ambush that left a Lake County sheriff’s deputy dead, and two others injured.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office says Julie Ann Sulpizio was part of a plot that resulted in a shootout between her family members and deputies on Friday, Aug. 2.
Master Deputy Bradley Link died in the attack, while deputies Stefano Gargano and Harold Howell suffered serious injuries. 41-year-old Howell underwent multiple surgeries and got out of the hospital four days after being shot in the wrist and arm.
The State Attorney’s Office (SAO) of the Fifth Judicial Circuit convened the grand jury on Monday which is required in any case where the death penalty might be sought.
The grand jury determined the prosecution presented adequate evidence that the defendant more than likely committed the crime and should be brought to trial.
|BACKGROUND: Lake County sheriff says Eustis woman claimed to be God and was the architect of the deadly ambush on his deputies
Sulpizio has been indicted on the following charges:
- Principal to murder in the first degree of a law enforcement officer – premediated
- Principal to attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer (3 counts)
- Conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree – premeditated
- Battery on a law enforcement or other officer
- Battery (3 counts)
The SAO has 45 days to decide whether to pursue capital punishment. Florida uses lethal injection to execute people convicted in death penalty cases.
The sheriff’s office says Sulpizio remains in custody in an area detention facility, and because of the nature of the charges she’s being held without bond.