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| Derick Lee, after being arrested by police |
If you ask the 15 women inside Jacquie Hagler’s house what happened, they’ll tell you it’s simple: Jesus scared a would be thief out of the Florida woman’s home.
At first, those gathered at Hagler’s house for a jewelry party thought the intruder was simply part of an elaborate gag, using a “water gun” to tease the Florida women.
"It's only a water gun," one attendee reportedly said, while brushing away the firearm allegedly brandished by Derick Lee, who entered the home wearing a ski mask and bandana across his face.
Witnesses say Lee then held the gun to the woman’s head and announced, "I'm not joking, I'm going to shoot someone, give me your money." He even showed the women some of the bullets loaded into his gun before they could be convinced the robbery attempt was real.
But what Lee didn’t know was that he was outgunned by the jewelry party attendees – at least spiritually speaking.
"When I realized what was going on, I stood up and said, 'In the name of Jesus, get out of my house now,'” Hagler told WJXT-TV. And he said, 'I'm going to shoot someone.' And I said it again, real boldly," Hagler continued. "Everybody started chanting, 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,' and he did a quick scan of the room, and ran out the door as fast as he could go."
Lee, 24, was arrested Friday night at his home and identified by several of the jewelry party attendees during a police photo lineup. He’s currently being held on a $200,000 bond.