Baldwin Park, known for large homes, walking trails and family-friendly special events, became the scene of a violent confrontation Wednesday when a 63-year-old driver punched and shot at a police sergeant who had written him a ticket for running a stop sign, investigators said.
Sgt. Kevin Roberson stopped William Jasper Cates' car just after 3 p.m. at Fox and Juel streets and wrote the citation, said Sgt. Jim Young, an Orlando police spokesman.
About half an hour later, Cates blew through the stop sign again, this time on a scooter, Young said. But Roberson let him go.
Soon, Cates returned, this time wearing a ski mask as he ran the sign and crashed the scooter between two rows of houses with Roberson in pursuit, Young said.
The situation escalated when Roberson went to see whether Cates was OK. That's when Cates punched the sergeant several times in the face and pulled a "high-powered" handgun and shot at him twice, Young said. Roberson subdued Cates, who was arrested and taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Neither man was seriously hurt.
The confrontation happened in the 900 block of Hobbs Alley, a block from where Cates was ticketed. Investigators found a bullet lodged in the front of a house there.
"We're very fortunate that no one was shot," Young said.
Orange County court records show no previous arrests for Cates, who lives less than a mile away in Baldwin Park. Cates previously lived in Illinois, about 35 miles north of St. Louis, public records show.
Baldwin Park residents said they were surprised when they saw police lights and crime-scene tape and heard the drone of three news helicopters hovering overhead.
"I thought this was one of the safer parts of Orlando," said Michelle Runzer, who passed the crime scene as she took a walk.
Copyright 2013 - Orlando Sentinel
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
