Dec. 19 incident reported at Anson apartment complex on Palmer Ranch
A Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office investigation into a Dec. 19 shooting at the Anson apartments on Palmer Ranch in Sarasota has determined that a 75-year-old man, Alan Otis Smith, shot his live-in girlfriend and then apparently shot and killed himself, Media Relations Specialist Dana Judge reported on Dec. 20.
The female victim fled the apartment after she was wounded, Judge added. That prompted neighbors to call 911, Judge noted.
“Responding deputies removed the victim from the scene,” Judge continued, and then a Sarasota County Emergency Medical Services unit “took her immediately to Sarasota Memorial Hospital,” Judge added.
“The female victim is still alive and is at Sarasota Memorial Hospital,” continuing treatment, Judge added.
The victim’s identity has been shielded, in accord with the state’s Marsy’s Law, Judge noted.
The Medical Examiner’s Office will determine Smith’s official cause of death, Judge wrote. Deputies notified Smith’s next of kin.
“There was no history of Sheriff’s Office responses to the location,” Judge pointed out.
Sawyer Loop Road connects with McIntosh Road to the west and Clark Road to the north, a map shows. Anson on Palmer Ranch is just south of the intersection of Northridge Road and Sawyer Loop Road.
Deputies were called to the apartment complex at 9:34 a.m. on Dec. 19, Judge explained in a Dec. 19 advisory.
In her Dec. 20 news release, Judge noted that, following their arrival, deputies evacuated the surrounding apartments, “believing the boyfriend was still inside, armed with a gun.” After members of the Sheriff’s Office SWAT and Hostage Negotiation Team responded to the scene, Judge continued, they “spent several hours trying to contact the boyfriend. The attempts were all unsuccessful, which prompted the SWAT Team to force entry” to the apartment.
In her initial advisory on Dec. 19, Judge pointed out that the Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team and members of the Criminal Investigations Section were on the scene, investigating the incident. “The crime scene is still active. Everyone is asked to please stay clear of area,” she wrote at that time.
In an updated email, sent out at 2:48 p.m. the same day, Judge reported that the road had to remain blocked off. Therefore, she reiterated the agency’s request that members of the public “stay clear of the area until further notice.”
Anson on Palmer Ranch is located at 6251 Sawyer Loop Road, its website says. The complex has one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, the website adds. It is managed by General Services Corp., the website notes.
A Sarasota News Leader search of court and traffic records maintained by the office of the Sarasota County Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller found no cases involving Smith.
A News Leader search of deeds, mortgages, judgments and liens on the Clerk of Court’s website also produced no records for Smith.