Polk County teacher accused of pulling gun on security guard
Tampa Florida January 24, 2023 A physical education teacher was arrested Sunday after he allegedly pulled a gun on a security guard who wouldn’t let him into a gated community in Davenport, according to deputies.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Devonta Gilmore, 31, of Lakeland, went to Champions Gate to “pick up his girlfriend’s belongings” but was turned away because he wasn’t on the visitor’s list.
Deputies said Gilmore tried another entrance but was denied access, so he became agitated and threatened the security guard.
“You want this smoke? You want this smoke? You wanna bump?” he allegedly told the guard before pulling a firearm from his waistband, putting it on his lap and driving away.
Deputies said he returned to the scene of the crime but fled again once he saw law enforcement.
Deputies searched the area and found Gilmore hiding in his vehicle in the parking lot of a Publix nearby.
Deputies said he admitted to brandishing the gun, telling deputies he had “pled with the security officer to let him in the subdivision and felt disrespected when he was denied access.”
He explained that “bump” meant physical fighting.
Gilmore was arrested for aggravated assault on a security officer, a second-degree felony. He was booked into the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, where he is being held without bond.