Hey Crystal, it's Corporal Hart, Lake County Sheriff's Office. We're just here to make sure that the baby's okay. That's it. >> Y'all doing me wrong. Look, they took my kids. They made my kids run away. Now look, they take me in handcuffs. Shut the hell up. Stop moving. >> I'm not moving, officer. And you moving me and telling me stop moving, officer. What did you spray us with? You got one chance to tell the truth. >> The truth, you know what's that? Grease, the greaser. Okay. They were announcing who they were. The lady came out, sprayed them all in the face with unknown chemical. Poor counts battery on Leo. On May 17th, 2024, the Lake County Sheriff's Office received an urgent call from a frantic Dallas Givens. As officers arrived on scene, a concerned father stood outside, unable to reach the mother, 36-year-old Crystal Vell and child, 1-year-old daughter, fearing something was wrong. Deputies knocked on the apartment door multiple times, but there was no response. What began as a routine call at an apartment complex in Leesburg quickly escalated into a tense and chaotic situation. I'm pretty young and I need to see if my baby's okay. What is she yelling? Get out. To you? Or the kid? No, not the kid. I don't know if the kid is there. That's what I'm trying to see. Oh, okay. So, you're just wanting a well-being check on the kid. >> Yes. Okay. All right. Would you stay down here for us? Sheriff's Office. Hey Crystal, it's Corporal Hart, Lake County Sheriff's Office. We're just here to make sure that the baby's okay. That's it. Once we verify the baby's okay, then we're going to leave, okay? Crystal, can you please just come to the door? We legit just want to make sure the baby's all right. That's it. And then we're leaving. Officers continued calling out Crystal's name, identifying themselves, assuring her they were only there to check on the child. Still nothing. While they waited, they spoke further with the father. He told them he hadn't seen his daughter in several days, and that Crystal had a history of mental health issues. Deputies asked him to go downstairs and complete an affidavit. With every silent second that passed, it became harder to ignore the possibility that something was seriously wrong on the other side of that door. I used to live here. Just Just sit right there. Crystal. Crystal. Crystal. No, this apartment's only one way in. We'll just send you back. It don't look like nobody's in here. When's the last time you saw her or spoke to her? In a couple days, I haven't So, you haven't been up here today? No. It don't look like nobody living here. Somebody's here. Somebody's here. All right, just give us a second. Okay. Can we get a statement? Yeah. Um when's the last time you saw your child? This is your child, right? >> Yes, sir. Okay, when's the last time you saw your child? 4 days, 4 or 5 4 or 5 days ago. Okay, what was the reason you came here today? To check on my baby. Okay. I'm I'm just asking >> I got you. I got you. I got you. I'm just I'm worried about my child, so Okay. Is there anything else that we need to know about before you write the statement? Statement of what else? To To us, what's going on, the situation with you, your your Is this ex-girlfriend, ex-wife? I mean, we we breaking up now. So, you guys were technically still together? I mean, we're not married or anything, but we're Were you dating? She's my She's my kids' mom. Okay. So, you guys were dating? We were, yeah. Okay. Is there anything I need to know about her situation, the child's situation? Is there any mental Yeah, she's she's she's been in a psych ward before. I had to check out. Yes. Okay, what what is she diagnosed with? Uh I don't know what she's diagnosed with, but uh she actually she said she would hurt herself before. That's why she got She got baker acted before? Huh? She got baker acted before? >> I don't know what that Where did they take her to, uh hospital? Yes. In Lakeland? Okay. In Lakeland? Yes. All right, can you go downstairs and fill out an affidavit with that deputy there? When deputies finally prepared to make entry, they noticed the apartment had been barricaded from the inside. Furniture and objects stacked against the door. They pushed through carefully, announcing their presence the entire time. Then Crystal emerged from the bedroom. She was holding a spray bottle, and before deputies could react, she unleashed an unknown chemical directly into their faces. Several officers were hit immediately. Pain, blurred vision, chaos. A taser was deployed to bring her under control. The child was located and rushed outside to her father. We appreciate that she's got the mental health issues. She's been baker acted before, put in a mental hospital, however you want to word it. I just I need as much information as you can give us on this before we can do what we need to do. Does she got family? Huh? Do you have family? Yeah, some probably Okay, do you guys know if she would went somewhere else? Cuz I know they the apartment complex is apparently been working on eviction for this apartment. So, I'm wondering if she finally left and maybe did this to spite the apartment complex. That's what it's kind of looking like to me. No, we have to wait on him to finish that. But I'm just letting you know what it looks like from our perspective right now, is that it looks like she did this to spite the apartment complex. And she might not even be here. Slide this Slide this bottom down. Pull thing. Yeah, the light What? It's jammed in there. I don't like that. It's jammed in there. You got to come with it. Okay, I'm coming 3450, lady, she's 10-15. Okay, officer, you pushing me down the stairs. You pushing me down the stairs, officer. Look what they did. I didn't do nothing wrong. All I'm doing is telling Jesus saves. Jesus saves. Y'all doing me wrong. Y'all see this? Y'all doing me wrong. Look, they took my kids. They made my kids run away. Now look, they take me in handcuffs. Dallas, you was all on this. Shut the hell up. >> Okay. God is good. They hurt the dog. The cops hurt the dog. What you trying to take, officer? Make sure you ain't got nothing in your pocket. >> got nothing in my pocket. Yes, I don't have nothing in my pocket, officer. So, what is this? Oh, okay. Exactly. Shut the hell up and let me do my job. No problem. This is what you wanted, Dallas. You see, you took all my kids off. I pulled one out. Stop moving. I'm not moving, officer. And you And you moving me and telling me stop moving, officer. I'm not trying to do nothing, officer. Once Crystal was secured and the child was safe, deputies began tending to each other, rinsing their eyes, drinking water, trying to clear the burning. The chemical, they would later learn, was a degreaser. Inside the apartment, investigators documented what the child had been living in. No electricity, a moldy refrigerator, minimal food, damaged window screens, and a flooded bathtub area. The child appeared physically healthy, though she had a few unexplained red marks on her back. [ __ ] [ __ ] man. I don't give a [ __ ] I need some I can't damn can't see out of this eye. Can't I'm about to draw What is that? Ass hole. What did you spray us with? You got one chance to tell the truth. >> The truth, you know what's that? Grease um the greaser. Okay. The greaser. One, two, three, four counts battery on Leo. One count child neglect. I can't see. I'm going to take her. No, I'm taking her. I just I really cannot see though. Water and both of them. These are like gentle. But that's I mean as gentle as we can get I guess. That's fine. I don't care. I can't see. All right, sit sit sit down. Sit on that [ __ ] in there. Did she have it on her? Did she have it on her? >> Did she have it on her or is it up there? No. No, did she spray herself or anything with that? >> know. We don't know. She went hands on. She was spraying with a baseball bat. Sorry, she had a baseball bat. We don't think anything to do with petrol or anything like that. We don't know. >> Go over what happened real quick. She um We're waiting there. We called her name. She didn't answer. Got start start statement get statement we went in. She started screaming as soon as he opened the door, sprayed him with bleach. Why did you go in? Why did you go in? Emergency? Welfare. Okay. So did she go in? >> she sprayed y'all? No, as soon as we went in the bedroom. Yeah, so So y'all announced and identified yourselves. We announced, told her who we were. We heard water running so that let us know someone was in there. I went to open the door, it was locked. We kicked the door off. The bathtub was flooded. And the bathtub was flooded and as soon as I turned the corner, she literally was spraying and it got me right there. While holding the baby? Hell yeah. She put the She had put the baby on a closet rack. So she went she sprayed me. I backed out, told him "Hey, she's spraying bleach." She got bleach, she got me in my eye. Then we were trying to go get in, that's when she was tased. After that, we went in there. I grabbed the baby. They were dealing with her. I turned the baby over to the father. All right. So basically just say deputies entered the house under exigent circumstances while attempting to check on the welfare of a child. The lady they were announcing who they were. The lady came out and sprayed them all in the face with unknown chemical. Four counts of battery on Leo and that's all we're doing right now. >> No child Don't do nothing else. Just four counts of battery on a Leo. No bond. She had a baseball bat and the Deputies then spoke with the father to get a clearer picture of the custody situation. He explained that he had been consistently caring for the child until communication with Crystal broke down in recent weeks. She had stopped responding to his calls entirely, which was what led him to contact law enforcement. Officers walked him through his legal options including petitioning the court for a mandatory psychiatric evaluation for Crystal and made clear their priority had been the child's safety from the moment they arrived. >> All right. So I guess you used to live here but you moved out four or five months ago, is that right? Okay. And when you left the house was in pretty good order? I Yes, yes, it's straight. Everything was good. It wasn't never like this. The windows weren't like that. Yeah. Okay. And what is the child custody situation? She has them but I'm um She did. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, I'm feeling better. All right, I'm So you you take care of her all Is there any court paperwork as far as custody goes? No. Okay. How often do you get her? My baby? Yeah. Um before this time it started I had them all the time. Okay. And now like lately though? She wasn't responding to no calls or nothing so I couldn't This is why I called I called to get to to my baby. Yeah. Okay. >> She wasn't responding to the text for like a week or two. Really? No calls or nothing like that. Okay. Was it like a half and half type situation before? Oh, they We was together. Yeah, they We was We was We was taking care of them together until she started her I don't know what And then that's when you moved out? >> Yeah, I moved out and >> Okay. Got you. All right. So you haven't ever seen the house like this then? No. No. Okay. It caught me to call you guys. I didn't know what like this Wow. Yeah. They keep saying them, is it I said to call you No, no, I mean the girl So Denaya is your daughter, right? >> Yes. Is there any other children or is it just Denaya? No, I have I have two other kids but they don't live with me. Oh, okay. So then nobody but her actually comes here. Okay. Got you. My best piece of advice as far as mental health goes y'all needs to get to the courthouse and do this I'll write it down for you. It's called an ex parte order. It's basically you petition the courts whether it's you're the father of a child or her brother, whatever. You petition the courts that she seek a mandatory psychiatric evaluation. It's not optional. You use this case number and what transpired here today the judge will sign it, right? Faster you guys get that done, the faster we can serve her. Get the serve for what she's at the jail, she won't be out of jail. So she'll go to first appearance. The judge will say your bond is let's say $2,000. And then from there we serve her and we take her straight to psychiatric eval. You got about two and a half hours to get to the courthouse. So we got to go to the courthouse? Yeah, I'll write down what you need to get but This is my 10th year doing this. It's the only way that legally you can get her help without She's obviously not going to want it. But once the judge signs that order, it's not optional. So because child custody situation is especially in the state of Florida, you weren't married when you had her. There's no child custody paperwork right now. Just keep an eye out on that. Because of this situation because of the child neglect they're going to offer you resources. They're not here to take anybody away. They're going to offer you resources and kind of suggest you know what you should do, what you shouldn't do, your options, all that good stuff. They may come out to your house to make sure that everything's good over there. But that that's a good one. That's up there. >> [crying] >> But because because the kids are involved, we want to make sure that all of our resources are provided to you too. You know. She might be mad if you go to the courthouse and do that whatever he was saying or child custody stuff. But yeah, if you ever think that there's anybody that's actually in danger obviously you called us today because of this. Just call us. Oh, okay. Of course. Yeah. Outside deputies also spoke with the apartment's other residents. The unit was already under eviction. Crystal had been living there without being on the lease. Officers coordinated with the state attorney's office, arranged for the locks to be changed once the apartment was cleared and confirmed Crystal would be booked with no bond. Whatever came next would be decided by a judge. So we're going to have to check with the state attorney's office because there's the new rules that you had mentioned that the deputy told you. So it may be in a positive effect to help. So we're going to check with them. Yeah. Okay, thank you so much. Yes, ma'am. I mean either way the apartment is under eviction so we're going to change the locks once everything's clear. But we don't want her to be here again because I see that's that's what we are trying to do. Yeah. Well so has the eviction actually gone through? They couldn't execute that day. But the two the two residents are here. I asked them if they are willing to sign the notice to vacate and you know give us back the unit. They said yes, they're going to pass by the Once I get in touch with my partner the residents those two sitting over there. Well, the problem with that is with the old laws, she has established residency here. So she technically has residency here even though you know she's not on the lease. So that would be the problem with that but They did invite her in. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we'll be We'll be We'll be here. I'm going to call I'm going to call the state here in a little bit once the detectives get here. Yeah, we'll see what we can do cuz remember they just passed all those new Yeah, no they they The lawyer was talking to us on Wednesday because on Wednesday we had a situation and the lawyers were explaining me that we they didn't really mean possession based on the unit and the address. Right. >> So they supposed to execute the eviction that day. So they are working on that with the change and everything. It takes about 20 days. to take back the unit. On the fast route. But I was I was asking because the two actual tenants they are in the lease are those um the gentleman and the other gentleman with the little girl. And I asked him if it's okay to sign the notice to vacate so they can give us back the unit. And he said that he's going to pass by the office so I want to know about that. >> Okay. Yeah, well yeah, you can do that. I mean if he takes the that unit as and he clears out and abandons it and she's not here cuz she's going to be booked in the no bond right now. So whether a judge gives her bond tomorrow or not, then she's got to find somebody's going to post her bond. So, Yeah, that's why we didn't want to go inside. That was No, so So, it's kind of deplorable in there right now. So, the detectives are going to have to get a search warrant to start their part of the case. So, we'll be out here for a while. Step up. I'm going to go to that door. What size shoes do you wear, ma'am? Okay. All right, turn around. I didn't think you were at all. In the end, Crystal Velas was charged with four counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and one count of child neglect. The 1-year-old was handed to her father outside, safe and away from the apartment she had been living in.