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Deputies: McDavid Man Sold Gun To 16-Year Old For $40 In Marijuana
August 26, 2010
A McDavid man was charged with selling a handgun that shot out a deputy’s tire to a 16-year old that paid with a $40 bag of marijuana.
David Dewayne Simmons, 49, was arrested on felony warrants for selling a firearm to a minor and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office believes Simmons (pictured left) sold a .22 caliber handgun to Ladarrious Tamiraye Lett. 16, of Ivey Street, Century. Lett has been charged as an adult with possession of a firearm by a convicted delinquent under 24 years of age, tampering with evidence and culpable negligence after the gun eventually fired into the tire of an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office cruiser.
The incident began at 3:23 a.m. on July 13 when Deputy Scott Rivkin conducted a traffic stop on a black Eagle Talon with no headlights near North Century Boulevard and Henry Streets. The driver of the vehicle was given a warning for failing to use his headlights. Lett was reportedly the passenger in the vehicle. Both left the area.
About five minutes later, Rivkin was traveling on North Century Boulevard in the same area as the traffic stop when when he heard what he believed to be a gunshot. Upon investigation, he discovered a .22 caliber pistol in the middle of North Century Boulevard. When the right rear wheel of the deputy’s cruiser rolled over the weapon, it had fired a round, flattening the tire. Next to the revolver, the deputy discovered one empty shell casing and five live rounds of ammunition.
While Deputy Rivkin was still parked on North Century Boulevard, he noticed the driver from the previous traffic stop and Lett approaching him on foot. The two were separated and questioned as the Flomaton Police Department responded for backup.
The driver told authorities that Lett (pictured left) had dropped the gun out of the vehicle’s window just prior to the traffic stop and that the pair had returned to the area to retrieve the gun. The 16-year old told deputies that he had purchased the gun from an individual. Lett admitted to dropping the gun out of the vehicle window, according to his arrest report.
When Lett was arrested July 13, he provided deputies with a bill of sale with Simmons’ signature, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Lett told deputies he paid $40 for the gun, and he picked Simmons out of a photo lineup.
On August 4, Simmons was interviewed at the Century Sheriff’s Office substation. He admitted selling the handgun to Lett for a $40 bag of marijuana, according to the arrest report. Simmons also told deputies that he had a 16 gauge shotgun and ammunition at his residence. The home in the 400 block of Railroad Street, McDavid, was searched, and deputies seized a 16 gauge shotgun, 150 live .22 caliber shells and one 16 gauge live shotgun shell from the kitchen area of the home.
Lett was originally charged as a juvenile in connection with the July 14 incident, but he is now being tried as an adult in Escambia County Circuit Court.
Comments
20 Responses to “Deputies: McDavid Man Sold Gun To 16-Year Old For $40 In Marijuana”
I stand ccorrected, he’s a 49 year old genius.
i’m praying for the day they legalize marijuana. i hope it is sooner rather than later. it would help in so many ways that a lot of people might not realize.
remember he’s only 49, looks older, though
Smoking weed in and of its self is a victimless crime, i have never heard of any one wrecking there car because they smoked pot, or robbing some one for weed money . But a 59 year old man trading a gun for pot to a 16 year old kid is pretty dumb. i know what the man was going to do with the pot , but what was the kid going to do with the gun, i dont know this kid but its pretty scary that he thought he needed one.
I LOVE YOU LADARUIS LETT HOLD UR HEAD UP THEY NEED TO LET U GO
K thanks william I will see if I can correct that.
David now your teaching me something. Thank you
I will see about a word processing program for my lap top.
I presume it isn’t built in.
I hate typos and I do know how to spell sheriff but I type
about 100 words a minute and have parkinson so when
I hit a word that has double letters in it my mind goes one way
and my fingers go another and they shake so they double click.
I tend to type too many doubles all the way through the words.
So anyway that should be a huge help. Thanks a heap.
“let it count your words for you (that’s why my comments are always so short) ”
The 300 words is not an exact number, but there is a number at which the system automatically just dumps the comment. It allows a little leeway.
A good rule would be if you look at your comment and it’s *way* longer than the others you see on NE, it’s probably too long. In the case of the one mentioned below, it was about 500 words with lots of returns creating empty lines. It began to look a long poem.
oh, and then copy and paste into the Your Comments: block
before hitting Submit Comment
It helps if you type what you want to say on a word processor program, let it count your words for you (that’s why my comments are always so short) and let it check your spelling while it’s at it so you can say what you mean to say. I don’t always do it and it shows, but it helps when I do–makes me look smarter than I am.
oh sorry william
didn’t realize that
I’ll have to learn to count. lol
>Well what i said about him was sooooo baaaaad that william pulled
my first post.
No, actually the system deleted it automatically because it was extremely long and in violation of the rules, especially “limit comments to 300 words or less”. It was nearly 500 words.
Oh and as for this old putz who sold a young boy a gun for dope.
Well what i said about him was sooooo baaaaad that william pulled
my first post.
So you get the idea!!!!!!!
i agree with darryl and oversight!
this story is just getting more and more crazy.
Well said,Darryl and David. Your comments are spot on.
Another benefit of legalization would be to take a lot of money out of the Mexican drug cartel’s pockets. Thousands of people in that country have lost their lives in the “drug war” over the past few years. Those deaths are brought on largely by the profit that our nation’s appetite for drugs has created.
And before someone jumps up and stutters that what happens in Mexico is their problem, take a good look. It’s spreading over the border every day. Before long we will hear about large scale murders on the American side, just as have been happening for years south of the border. There’s just too much money in it.
REGARDING:
” Next to the revolver, the deputy discovered one empty shell casing and five live rounds of ammunition.”
So the cylinder came loose and spilled its contents?
REGARDING:
“How does this individual having a gun connect with legalizing marijuana?”
I doubt Darryl just meant one particular drug. However, in this particular case, marijuana was used as money to pay for the weapon. If marijuana were as cheap as hay, that would not have paid for a gun, not being valuable enough.
As long as there are illegal drugs, they will generate a revenue source for those with a criminal bent. They will provide the money for weapons and the known need to defend oneself from fellow criminals.
The illegal drug trade also is associated with other crimes to take away property from others for purchase of drugs. If drugs were as cheap as–say aspirin, they would not need to rob as many people to finance the purchases and would not be as likely to need a weapon while stealing.
Former drug people would have to work for a living or depend on the guv’ment (you and me) to care for them. They could no longer make a living selling a killing substance. Gangs would need to disband or find other financing. Pimps would need to find other ways to hook hookers.
It would involve death and destruction, but likely less than is currently the case.
David for removing foundation of crimes
How does this individual having a gun connect with legalizing marijuana? I don’t think if it was legal Lett would not have a gun. It doesn’t add up
This is why nobody needs to be out in the middle of the night unless you
work late.
There is nothing to do but be up to no good.
Legalize marijuana and kill the illegal drug trade, and with it, this nonsense.
Prohibition didn’t work with alcohol, and it doesn’t work with drugs. It is statistical fact that whenever a jurisdiction tries to strictly enforcement prohibition laws, violent crime rates go up.
Hmm, and them liberal folk are always touting that gun shows are to blame for how these young thugs get their guns. Here’s proof that it’s the lucrative illegal drug trade and convicted felons who shouldn’t have firearms in the first place.