Its rare these days that boxing gets a front page news mention. But it happened in St. Petersburg, Florida this week for all the wrong reasons.
Jeff Lacy’s brother Hydra was a 39-year-old convict and registered sex offender, according to the St. Pete Times.
Here are more details from the newspaper report:
The Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force targeted Hydra Lacy weeks ago after he failed to show up for court.
Lacy was attempting to hide from the three task force members – in the attic of St. Petersburg homeowner Christine Lacy. The team took the woman outside and called for back-up at 7:07 am on Monday morning.
When attempts to remove Lacy from the attic failed and after Lacy shot two of the officers, who became trapped in the attic with Lacy, “heavily armored tactical officers from across Tampa Bay rushed to the scene armed with small tanks equipped with battering rams to knock down doors and walls.”
Dozens of residents and TV cameras witnessed the horrific scene in the Perry Bayview neighborhood. Lacy refused to surrender despite intermittent talks with police negotiators.
A second rescue attempt of the officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz, trapped in the attic with Lacy, began at 9:20 am. Tear gas canisters and hundreds of shots echoed through the neighborhood. Armored vehicles punched more holes in the house. “Robots armed with surveillance cameras to leet inside.”
The house was demolished.
Lacy’s body was found at 2 pm. Police did not say if Lacy was killed by their bullets or his own.
Two St. Pete Police Department officers were killed – Sgt. Thomas J. Baitinger, 48, and K-9 officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz, 39, father of three. A U.S. Marshal was wounded.
Hydra Lacy first slept in a prison cell at age 17, then served a second stint after a conviction for sexual battery of a teenage female.
Hydra Lacy was the brother of former IBF Super Middleweight champion and 2000 U.S. Olympian Jeff Lacy.