PANAMA CITY — The Springfield man involved in an hour-long, armed standoff with law enforcement turned his gun on himself after Sheriff Frank McKeithen shot him in the torso, authorities said Wednesday.
Bay County Sheriff’s deputies had sought Aaron Lepak, 40, in connection to an aggravated battery incident that left his wife paralyzed before law enforcement cornered the armed man Tuesday at the Budget Inn, 3910 U.S. 98. Officials initially announced Lepak had died on the scene after negotiations became unruly, he waived his firearm in McKeithen’s direction and was subsequently shot in the room, according to BCSO reports.
As is the standard procedure in officer-involved shootings, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is investigating the events that led up to the gunfire, but BCSO released preliminary evidence Wednesday indicating at least one of Lepak’s critical wounds was self-inflicted.
Maj. Tommy Ford, who had a direct phone lineto the room during negotiations, said McKeithen did not draw his gun until discussions deteriorated and Lepak began waving his firearm in the direction of the sheriff’, who is a trained hostage or crisis negotiator
“Sheriff McKeithen felt that in Lepak’s mind only one of them was leaving that room alive,” Ford said. “At that point (McKeithen) drew his firearm and fired several times.”
Lepak fell backward, then placed his pistol in his mouth and fired, Ford said.
He was not breathing as BCSO medical personnel rushed on the scene. EMS staff were able to regain a pulse en route to a local hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition. Lepak remained in critical condition Wednesday.
Springfield Police Department wanted Lepak in connection to a July 27 domestic violence incident between he and his wife, which left Rhonda Lepak permanently disfigured.
According to the probable cause affidavit, during a verbal dispute at their East Ninth Street home, Aaron Lepak reportedly grabbed Rhonda Lepak and picked her up before placing her in a headlock.
When she came to, she couldn’t feel her legs and couldn’t get up on to her feet, Rhonda Lepak told police.
After lying on the ground pleading for help, Aaron Lepak placed her on the sofa. He later carried her to their bedroom. The next day, Rhonda Lepak said she convinced him to call for help and EMS transported her to the local hospital where she learned she had been paralyzed, the affidavit stated.
She is still under hospital care.
On Aug. 1, the mother of Aaron Lepak, Catherine Lepak, filed a missing person report with Springfield police before investigators discovered he was in hiding, Chief Philip Thorne said.
He retreated to the Budget Inn until authorities confronted him Tuesday, and 90 minutes of negotiations ended in gunfire.
McKeithen was placed on administrative leave pending FDLE’s investigation, a standard procedure in a deputy-involved shooting. McKeithen is not bound to that policy, Ford said, but symbolically imposed the standard upon himself.
BCSO will follow up the FDLE investigation with an administrative investigation of its own to evaluate BCSO’s response.