Lakevia Pringle (Seminole County Jail).
Police in Florida have arrested a 31-year-old woman for allegedly egging on her girlfriend to shoot another woman to death as she livestreamed the ordeal on Facebook.
Lakevia Davonna Pringle is facing a charge of principal to first-degree premeditated homicide, Sanford police said in a press release. Authorities say her girlfriend, Savon Tyler, shot and killed Lauren Ashley Martin on Nov. 5.
“While livestreaming, Pringle can be heard encouraging Tyler to continue the altercation, which led to the homicide of Lauren,” cops said, adding that Pringle had not been cooperative with detectives.
Pringle turned herself into authorities Friday after they issued the arrest warrant. The principal statute in Florida is as follows:
Whoever commits any criminal offense against the state, whether felony or misdemeanor, or aids, abets, counsels, hires, or otherwise procures such offense to be committed, and such offense is committed or is attempted to be committed, is a principal in the first degree and may be charged, convicted, and punished as such, whether he or she is or is not actually or constructively present at the commission of such offense.
Florida defense attorney Don Pumphrey Jr. likened the statute to a tornado where “everyone gets sucked into the vortex of destruction in the form of the most serious possible charge.” He writes that the use of the statute by law enforcement is “frequent.” For instance, it can be used on a getaway driver for a bank robbery that turns fatal, he said. Another example is charging a person who hired a hit man to murder someone.
“Florida Statutes Section 777.011 is the ‘Big Nasty’ of the nastiest Florida Statutes,” he writes. “When I say ‘Big Nasty,’ I mean it sucks everyone into the crime in a ‘big’ way, like a Fujita 5 Tornado (FPP Scale). Total destruction. It’s bad. Really bad. ‘Actual perpetrators’ and aiders and abettors are treated the same under the statute, regardless of their roles in the offense — they are all principals in the first degree.”
Left: Savon Tyler (Sanford Police Department). Right: Lauren Martin (Facebook).
As Law&Crime previously reported, A probable cause arrest affidavit says cops responded around 7 p.m. to a shooting in the 1700 block of Travertine Terrace. When they arrived they found Martin in the road suffering from gunshot wounds to the chest. Doctors performed emergency surgery when she got to the hospital but lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful and they pronounced her dead.
Cops processing the scene found a pool of blood, a children’s toy bat and a 9 mm handgun. Savon, who lived at the condo complex, remained on scene and spoke with investigators. Post-Miranda, she reportedly admitted to shooting Martin twice during a fistfight.
Martin’s family told Orlando NBC affiliate WESH that the 34-year-old was a photographer. Tyler had an issue with some of the photos and someone made a comment online and it “spiraled out of control from there,” Martin’s aunt said.
Tyler, 35, told police that she learned Martin was coming over to her home to fight while watching a Facebook Live video. According to the affidavit, Tyler said she grabbed the gun and the mini bat. While waiting for Martin, Tyler “strategically placed” the gun in a nearby utility box, per the affidavit.
When Martin arrived, Tyler met her in the middle of the street holding the mini bat. The two began a “mutual-combat style fist fight,” cops said. Martin then snatched the bat out of her hand, police said. Tyler allegedly ran to retrieve the gun and shot Martin twice, according to the affidavit.
Tyler claimed she became in fear for her life when Martin had the bat, but backtracked on that statement and claimed she thought Martin could’ve had a weapon. She then said she was scared for her four children in the home.
Facebook Live videos by Martin and Pringle captured some of the incident, including Tyler holding a gun. Pringle was allegedly enticing Tyler, saying “beat that hoe’s a–” and “fire her a– up.” It was too dark to capture the shooting, but cops heard two gunshots in the background. One shot hit Martin’s forearm and the other entered her abdomen, which struck several organs.
“A family is mourning the loss of a loved one, because someone chose to resolve a disagreement with violence,” Sanford police Chief Cecil Smith said in a statement. “What started the argument between these two won’t be remembered, but the loss of Lauren will forever be with her family and friends. There are choices other than violence.”
Both Pringle and Tyler are in the Seminole County Jail without bond. They both have a court date scheduled for Dec. 10.
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