A Fort Myers, Florida man was arrested Saturday for allegedly attempting to break into a home on July 17th.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies took 33-year-old Larvon Jackson Upshaw into custody after he was spotted at a grocery store and detained by homeowner and victim Gaston Guerra. Guerra had contacted police on July 17th to alert them that he was woken by his dogs barking around 1 a.m. that morning.
He entered his daughter’s bedroom with a gun and found a black male, later identified as Upshaw, sticking his head and arm through the window. Guerra told deputies that Upshaw was holding a knife in his hand directly over his sleeping daughter. “We see this guy from the chest up with a knife,” he described. “If he stabbed me, I wouldn’t be alive,” added 12-year-old Lizete Guerra.
Guerra attempted to fire his gun at Upshaw, but the firearm malfunctioned. Upshaw fled from the scene. “I pointed at him with my shotgun. I told him to stop, freeze or I’ll shoot,” he said.
Guerra notified deputies that he had a previous encounter with Upshaw the previous day. Upshaw had allegedly been at a neighbor’s house and was urinating in public in front of Guerra’s children.
On Saturday afternoon, Upshaw was spotted by Guerra’s son, Gaston Guerra, Jr. while he shopped at nearby Backbay Market. Guerra notified the Lee County Sheriff’s Office – and then his father – of Upshaw’s whereabouts and went to the store to wait for police to arrive.
“I called him up and I said, ‘I’m going to get this guy,’” Guerra Jr. said. According to reports, Guerra arrived at the store minutes later and confronted Upshaw, who then attempted to run.
Guerra was able to detain Upshaw until deputies arrived. Upshaw was taken into custody and charged with armed burglary of an occupied dwelling.