LAKELAND, Fla — A man has been arrested for allegedly shooting at two Lakeland Police Officers.
On Tuesday, August 27 around 5:00pm, Lakeland Police said two detectives were conducting surveillance in the 1800 block of Plateau Village Drive parked in their unmarked police car when they were approached by one of the suspects, Arthur Jared Williams, 18. Police said he was with Abdul Milik Littles, 22, and Littles' car, a red Nissan Maxima. Williams was not the target of the surveillance.
Police said detectives were wearing shirts that identified them as police, along with badges and weapons. According to LPD, Williams walked up to the vehicle, looked inside, and asked detectives if they had marijuana.
The detectives took a photo of Williams and Littles, realizing their surveillance was compromised, and left the area.
Around 5:45 p.m., the detectives were patrolling in the 1100 block of Atlantic Road and saw the same Nissan Maxima. LPD said as the detectives drove past them, Williams allegedly pointed his fingers at the detectives, simulating the firing of a gun.
"After passing them, one of the detectives looked in the rearview mirror to see Williams holding a handgun," said Chief Sam Taylor. "Williams then started shooting directly into the detectives vehicle.”
The detectives were not injured, but the vehicle was hit five times.
Around 1:25 a.m., Lakeland Police said Williams and Littles were found in Tampa. Authorities said the two called for an Uber in an attempt to distance themselves from the car. Police made a traffic stop on the Uber, and both men were taken into custody.
“That’s just evil that has no regard for life. None," said Mark Glass, the Commissioner for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "This could be in your neighborhood. This could be you driving by with your child. We always hear about these children that are getting hit by random stray shots where people are just slinging gunfire in the air or at each other, and we have these problems in our communities.”
Williams was arrested and charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer in the second degree and shooting into an occupied vehicle. Littles was arrested on unrelated charges by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, but remains a suspect in this case.
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