A former Pinellas County Sheriff's Office deputy was arrested on Wednesday for aggravated assault after investigators said she pointed a gun at a man during a road rage incident in a Palm Harbor apartment complex parking lot last month.
"What she really did, which is extremely problematic beyond the fact that she pointed a gun at somebody, is she lied about it and she covered things up," said Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
Sheila Langlais, 46, was off-duty when the incident occurred on Feb. 7 at 3:52 p.m., at the Twin Lakes Apartments, located at 31790 U.S. 19 N. According to an arrest warrant, Langlais got into an argument with Brett Dowd, who was a passenger in a car that was being driven by his girlfriend, Brittany Byrne. The couple's child was also in the car.
The report states the couple were looking for a guest parking spot to visit a friend when a black Nissan approached at a high rate of speed, sounding its horn and skidding to a stop right next to them. Dowd said he flipped the driver off and Langlais lowered her window and yelled, "Your stupid b--ch almost cut me off."
Dowd said he and Langlais continued to curse at each other until she pulled out a gun, pointed it at him and said, "I know how to use it, and I'm not afraid." Langlais then drove away and Dowd called 911.
Deputies said they found Langlais' car parked in the complex and she was at Sarah Swanner's apartment, another off-duty Pinellas deputy. Langlais initially said that she was not armed and had not been armed all day, according to the warrant.
Sheriff Gualtieri said Swanner told investigators that Langlais told her that she had pointed a gun at someone. Investigators said Langlais had hid her Glock 43 on a shelf in Swanner's apartment and changed her clothing after the altercation. According to the report, Langlais ultimately admitted to pointing the gun at Dowd, and admitted that she had lied several times.
"She has to bear the consequences of her actions and she resigned the next day. She’s gone," said Gualtieri. "Needless to say is that her career in law enforcement is over, as it should be, and the criminal justice system will deal with her."
Gualtieri hired Langlais in March of 2013, despite her checkered past in law enforcement. Langlais resigned from the Tarpon Springs Police Department in 2001, while on paid administrative leave for having a romantic relationship with her direct supervisor and then resigned from the Pinellas Park Police Department in 2005, in lieu of a termination hearing for misconduct.
Langlais' married her husband, Sgt. Paul Langlais, in 2006, he has worked for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office since 1999. Gualtieri said that was one reason he was willing to give her another chance in law enforcement.
"They had gotten married and that added some stability in her life and the fact that her husband worked here, it was a positive," he said. "She was a good deputy. She was doing her job. So, there’s no indication of anything that she did related to her work performance that was improper... and she had been here long enough where if there were issues, we would’ve known about it."
Langlais got out of the Pinellas Jail on a $5,000 bond on Wednesday.
Bay News 9 was unable to reach the former deputy at her Tarpon Springs condo.