Inverness woman arrested for stealing neighbor’s Christmas decorations; striking deputies | Crime & Courts

An Inverness woman was arrested on allegations she stole Christmas decorations from a neighbor’s home before she lashed out at the pair of deputies who handcuffed her.

Citrus County Sheriff’s Office deputies jailed 57-year-old Christina Santina Luca the morning of May 5 under a total bond of $32,500.

Luca faces charges of resisting a law enforcement officer with violence, depriving a law enforcement officer of their means to communicate, burglarizing an occupied dwelling, petit theft, and two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer.

According to Luca’s arrest report, deputies responded May 5 to an Inverness residence to investigate a woman’s accusation Luca stole around $5 worth of Christmas lights, wreaths and decorative candy canes earlier that morning from her front porch.

She also reminded deputies the sheriff’s office had Luca trespassed from her property on April 25.

Deputies went to Luca’s home in the 2300 block of North Chimney Trail to find destroyed blue-and-silver streamers matching her neighbor’s decorations lying on her front yard. More of the woman’s decorations were found on Luca’s outside table.

According to Luca’s arrest report, an investigator with the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) was also with deputies to ask Luca about the lack of food, water and power in her home.

Luca became aggressive when the DCF investigator questioned her, and she began pacing on her porch while handling a pair of scissors.

Deputies told Luca they were going to detain her for further questioning, prompting Luca to anchor herself in a chair by sitting down and clutching the armrests, her arrest report states.

A pair of deputies put their arms underneath Luca’s to lift her up but she remained fastened to the chair, telling one deputy she’d have him arrested.

Luca’s arrest report has the names of the two deputies redacted because their identities are protected under Florida’s Marsy’s Law.

Eventually, the deputies brought Luca to her feet but she tried to pull away from them, leading the two deputies to bring her facedown to the ground, where they ordered her numerous times to stop resisting and put her hands behind her back.

Luca, according to her arrest report, told the deputies they’d have to kill her if they wanted to take her into custody. Afterward, Luca kicked one the deputies in his thigh before she tried to pull the other deputy’s radio microphone off his chest.

A deputy was able to handcuff Luca’s right hand but Luca continued to resist, leading the deputy to draw his TASER and warn Luca to stop. Luca kept resisting, and the deputy used his TASER to stun her, allowing deputies to handcuff Luca’s left hand.

Luca bit one of the deputy’s arms before she was handcuffed, according to her arrest report, and proceeded to kick at both deputies when they brought her to a patrol vehicle.

In her Mirandized and recorded statement to deputies, her arrest report states, Luca admitted to going onto her neighbor’s property and stealing her decorations.