Lawrance Walter Washka, 37, was found guilty as charged of Battery on a Law Enforcement
Officer and Resisting an Officer with Violence following a one-day trial in Lee County.
In February, at a gas station in North Fort Myers, a deputy with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office
responded to a report of a suspicious person circling the gas pumps in a station wagon asking
customers for their names and identification. The responding deputy attempted to make contact
with the man and get him to stop the car. The defendant then suddenly accelerated and continued
to circle the pumps.
A second deputy with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrived to assist and attempted a traffic
stop. Washka then parked in a parking spot but would not follow the commands of the deputies
to show his hands and get out of the car.
The deputies then began to remove the defendant from the vehicle but he started resisting them
and flailing his arms. Washka yelled out that they “were not the real police.” Both deputies were
in full uniform, in marked patrol cars, with emergency lights activated.
The defendant then bit one of the deputies, who was wearing a short sleeve uniform shirt, on the
arm. The deputy was taken to the hospital for treatment. Washka was taken into custody and
taken to the hospital due to his behavior.
Assistant State Attorney Michael Curley prosecuted the case.
Samantha Syoen
Communications Director
State Attorney’s Office
ssyoen@sao20.org
239-533-1125