Left to right: Cheryl Lynn Williams and Blane Lane (Polk County Sheriff”s Office).
A Florida woman will likely spend multiple decades behind bars for the death of a deputy – though she did not fire the shot that killed him.
On Thursday, Cheryl Lynn Williams, 49, was found guilty by a Polk County jury on all counts against her, including murder in the second degree, resisting an officer without violence, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of methamphetamine.
In October 2022, the defendant was arrested on 13 felony charges after Polk County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Blane Lane, 21, was shot and killed by friendly fire while part of a four-person team serving a felony arrest warrant on Williams at her residence in Polk City – a small town located roughly 40 miles southwest of Orlando.
At the time of the incident, Williams was wanted for failure to appear in court on a drug possession charge, law enforcement said.
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On Oct. 4, 2022, at around 3 a.m., Lane and three others – Sergeant Michael Brooks, and Deputies Johnny Holsonback III and Adam Pennell – arrived and quickly determined Williams was somewhere in the back part of the residence, citing a witness on the scene.
A second witness then allegedly said: “She’s in here,” which caused Lane to assume a “tactical” position near the rear of the building as the other three deputies went inside.
“Lane’s tactical position afforded him the view of the door and windows to ensure that he would see the suspect in the event she tried to flee,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
Williams then appeared near a “gaming room” while brandishing a “silver handgun,” later determined to be a “very realistic-looking BB gun,” the sheriff’s office said. A hail of gunfire ensued. Williams was struck at least twice – but so was Lane, once.
The lone bullet entered his arm and made its way into his chest. The deputy, who had been sworn in to serve just a few months prior, later died at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center.
“This suspect’s outrageous criminal actions were the cause of my deputy being killed in the line of duty, and the jury appropriately found her guilty as charged,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in comments provided to St. Petersburg-based CBS affiliate WTSP. “Her family can visit her in prison, but Blane’s family has to visit his grave in a cemetery and can only have a one-sided conversation with him. We will never forget Deputy Blane Lane, and his family remains in our prayers.”
A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Williams faces the possibility of life in prison due to the second-degree murder conviction.
The defendant, for her part, reportedly sat in court and did not express emotion as each conviction was read, according to WTSP.
Blane’s mother, however, was essentially the opposite – hailing the verdict through tears while acknowledging the limits of formal justice.
“I would love to say there is a sign of relief — it doesn’t bring him back,” his mother told the TV station. “So I’m glad she’s done. She is done.”
