Brooksville, Fla. – Law enforcement officials with the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that a second individual was taken into custody in connection with a shooting at the St. Teresa Apartments and an earlier domestic‑violence case.
Arrest of Jennifer Fugate
Deputies arrested 50‑year‑old Jennifer Fugate after she told investigators she had hidden a revolver beneath a nearby building. Fugate faces charges of accessory after the fact, tampering with physical evidence, and providing false information during a felony investigation. She is being held on an $11,000 bond.
Details of the November 3 shooting
On Nov. 3, deputies responded to a 911 call from the St. Teresa Apartments at 250 N. Broad St. A man reported that he had been shot multiple times in the arm and leg. He identified 58‑year‑old Richard Lilly Jr. as the gunman. First responders located the victim nearby, provided medical treatment for non‑life‑threatening injuries, and later released him from the hospital.
Lilly was detained in a neighboring unit and booked into the Hernando County Detention Center on a $105,000 bond. He faces a series of charges, including aggravated battery with a firearm, shooting within a building, tampering with physical evidence, criminal mischief, multiple counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, domestic battery and assault.
Domestic‑violence background
Detectives learned that Lilly had allegedly struck his girlfriend with a handgun and threatened to shoot her during a domestic dispute several days before the apartment shooting. While executing multiple search warrants, investigators recovered ammunition matching the caliber of the firearm used, though the gun itself was not initially found at the scene.
Fugate’s involvement
Security camera footage captured Fugate walking through the breezeway from the direction of Lilly’s unit roughly one minute after gunfire erupted. During a later interview, Fugate told detectives that Lilly handed her a holstered black‑and‑brown revolver immediately after the shooting and instructed her to dispose of it. She admitted to holding the weapon until the morning of Nov. 4, when she wiped it down, removed two live rounds and one spent casing, and concealed the gun beneath an adjacent building.
With Fugate’s consent, detectives searched the specified area and recovered the revolver along with the discarded ammunition. The firearm was not listed as stolen and has been sent for forensic testing to determine any links to other crimes.
Ongoing investigation
The sheriff’s office continues to investigate both the shooting and the prior domestic‑violence incident. Authorities emphasized the importance of community cooperation in solving violent crimes and urged anyone with additional information to contact the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
