47 at Solar Contractors, Orders Them Gone
Andru Bryan Rivera, 25, was parked on Regent Lane in Palm Coast Thursday evening, with two other people in the car. The car was not obstructing traffic. The three were waiting for a co-worker. Julio Angeles, an employee with Windmar, the solar and roofing company, was conducting a business appointment in a nearby residence. It is not illegal to wait for someone in a car, or to park that car on the side of a residential street. Suddenly Rivera was startled by aggressive banging with a metal object on his car window. He lowered the window. As he did so he saw a man later identified as Roland Littlefield, 53, holding an AK-47-style assault rifle "in a hostile manner," according to Littlefield's arrest report, and screaming insults at Rivera and his companions, telling them they don't belong in the area and telling them to leave. It is not illegal for people who don't necessarily live in a neighborhood to be that neighborhood.
As Littlefield "escalated," his arrest report states, he "pointed the weapon directly at [Rivera], ordering them to leave. [Rivera] attempted to explain to [Littlefield] that he was there on business, however, after [Littlefield] pointed the AK-47 style weapon directly at him, he agreed to leave the area." Both other occupants in the car corroborated Rivera's account to Flagler County Sheriff's deputies. Brandishing a firearm in an aggressive manner absent a well founded fear for one's safety is illegal, however. It is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony.
That is not what he was charged with, however.
When the first of several sheriff's deputies arrived, he saw Littlefield and Keith Raimundo, a neighbor of Littlefield's, walking in the driveway of 17 Regent Lane, where Littlefield lives. Littlefield was carrying the rifle. He was ordered to place the weapon on the ground. Littlefield complied. Once Littlefield reached the driveway at 15 Regent Lane, he produced a handgun from his waistband or the front pocket of his pants and placed it on the ground. The deputy ordered both men to lay down on their stomach in the middle of the street, at gunpoint until the two men were handcuffed. Deputies turned up three firearms: a Glock 17, a semiautomatic Taurus 9mm and "a black WASR-10 AK-47 rifle with tan/yellow wooden buttstock," the report states, with one round in the muzzle, "making the firearm ready to be fired upon pulling the trigger. The AK-47 had a black 30 round magazine containing 18 additional 7.62×39 live rounds." The Taurus belonged to Raimundo.
Raimundo told deputies that he was in his house getting ready to watch television when Littlefield knocked at his door, holding the AK-47 and telling him that "there was a truck with occupants inside 'casing' the area." It isn't clear what evidence Littlefield had that the occupants of the car were "casing" the area. The report does not state whether Raimundo asked him any questions or sought to clarify the situation, only that he grabbed his gun and joined Littlefield. But Raimundo did not see any truck anywhere. What he did detect was the smell of alcohol around Littlefield. He had also seen Littlefield drink earlier in the evening. He would later tell deputies that he had consumed three beers and a whiskey.
As they walked outside, Littlefield "supposedly saw the truck with the headlights out," according to his arrest report. The two men hid behind a vehicle. It's not clear why. The vehicle turned out to be a sheriff's patrol car: it put on blue and red flashing lights.
Deputies spoke with Angeles, the Windmar employee, who told them that when he left his business appointment he went outside to see the police activity, not understanding what was going on. Another Windmar employee who was with Angeles told deputies likewise. The situation would typically have led to a third-degree felony charge. Rivera declined to pursue charges, however. Littlefield was charged with
