MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Sarasota woman was arrested early Wednesday morning after authorities said she was caught on camera loading what appeared to be bullets into a high-capacity magazine inside the emergency room at Blake Hospital.
According to the Bradenton Police Department, dispatchers received the call at 2:16 a.m. One minute later, officers were en route to the hospital.
At the same time, a hospital security guard approached the woman, later identified as Jamekeyra Ulisa Levertt-Chapman, 37, of Sarasota, and seized a handgun from her purse. By 2:24 a.m., officers arrived and surrounded the woman.
Police said a semi-automatic Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 handgun and an incorporated laser were secured by the security guard prior to the officer’s arrival.
Officers also found one high-capacity (50 round) drum-style magazine with 36 loaded rounds, two magazines containing a total of 13 loaded rounds, and 14 loose rounds in Levertt-Chapman’s purse, a news release stated.
Witnesses said they saw Levertt-Chapman loading what appeared to be bullets into a magazine.
Levertt-Chapman was arrested and charged with introducing a firearm into a hospital and possession of a concealed weapon without a concealed weapon permit — both felony offenses. Bond was set at $3,000.
“There are obvious concerns,” said Meredith Frameli with the Bradenton Police Department. “To the staff members, to anyone who was coming in and out of the emergency room. Fortunately in this situation, everything worked exactly as it should.”
Detectives have yet to determine a motive. An investigation is ongoing.
