Heavily Armed Man Arrested On Sarasota Street

Sarasota, FL — A 27-year-old convicted felon from Sarasota faces a number of new criminal charges after police say they spotted him on a public street armed with three loaded weapons Monday morning.

According to the Sarasota Police Department, a detective noticed Lamarcus A. Slydell in the 1900 block of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Way around 6:30 a.m. with what appeared to be three firearms in his shorts pockets. The detective called in officers to investigate further.

When the officers neared Slydell's location, one could “clearly see what appeared to be a long pointed object protruding from the side of his shorts pocket,” an arrest report said.

The officers exited their patrol vehicle, firearms drawn, and ordered Slydell to the ground, the report said. When they searched him, they found three loaded firearms.

Slydell told the officers he bought the weapons in West Palm Beach, an email from the police department said. “The only reason he had them was because he had been shot at five times,” police quoted Slydell as saying.

The weapons seized were:

• A Smith & Wesson .32 caliber six-shot revolver, loaded with six Aguila bullets
• A Jennings 22 semi-automatic pistol, with five 22 caliber long rifle bullets (none chambered)
• A Talon 9mm semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 10 Luger bullets (none chambered)

“It’s obvious that this individual was heavily armed for a purpose,” Lt. Randy Boyd said in a statement. “It is unknown, at this time, what that purpose was, but the citizens in our community can be assured that we took a very dangerous individual off the streets today. Anytime a person arms themselves in such a manner, knowing they are a convicted felon, causes concern about their intent.”

Slydell now faces three counts of carrying a concealed firearm, three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Police say he has a 2006 felony conviction on his record. It is unclear what charges he faced previously.

Slydell was being booked into the Sarasota County Jail Monday.

Photos courtesy of the Sarasota Police Department