Long criminal past, rocky relationship led up to shooting of officer, four kids' deaths

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The man who police said shot an officer, took four children hostage, then killed the children after a 20-hour standoff had a long criminal history but didn't spend any time in jail for it.

Court records show Gary Lindsey, Jr. had a tumultuous relationship with the woman who called 911 Sunday night.

Read: Wife of Orlando officer in coma: ‘My kids need a daddy. This community needs a real hero'

Documents show she filed for an order of protection in Orange County last year but failed to show up to the hearing. Records show three years earlier, she tried to get him involuntarily committed under the Baker Act after she said he put a knife to her neck.

Read: How to cope with fear, sadness after a mass shooting

In 2012, records show the woman once again said Lindsey put a knife to her neck and threatened to kill her. Prosecutors dropped the case because the victim was unwilling to cooperate, according to court documents.

Records also show both the woman and Lindsey were arrested for domestic violence against each other.

Police had originally said Lindsey had five guns, but Orlando police Chief John Mina said Wednesday that investigators only recovered one gun from the apartment -- a .380 caliber pistol stolen from Lindsey's father.

"Today, we learned from the medical examiner that that handgun was definitively the one used to kill all four children," Mina said.

The standoff ended Monday evening when Lindsey killed the four children ranging in age from one to 11, then killed himself, police said. Two of the children were his own. The other two were his girlfriend's.

Orlando police Officer Talmon Hall is part of Valencia's squad.

"He wanted to be the first to bring the children out of the house, and he wanted to be the first to apprehend the bad guy," Hall said.

Click here to donate to the family's funeral expenses

At a press conference Tuesday evening, Mina said that during the negotiations, there was never any indication that Lindsey threatened the children.

"There was no indication of an imminent threat. There were no sounds of voices of the children," said Mina.

Investigators still don't know the timeline of when Lindsey killed the children.

Mina said officers were working hard to gather as much information as they could about what was going on inside the apartment without provoking Lindsey.

The standoff started late Sunday night when police said Lindsey beat an ex-girlfriend, who called police to report a domestic dispute at the Westbrook Apartments complex on Eaglesmere Drive, just north of Universal Studios.

Mina said the children were not part of the original domestic violence call.

Read: Wife of Orlando officer in coma: ‘My kids need a daddy. This community needs a real hero'

Lindsey opened fire when officers arrived, shooting Officer Kevin Valencia through the door, police said. Sources told Channel 9 Valencia was shot in the eye. Fellow officers rushed Valencia to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he underwent surgery early Monday morning. Mina said Valencia suffered "very significant injuries," but is expected to survive.

Two of the children were found dead in one bedroom and the two others were found dead in a second bedroom.

Lindsey pleaded no contest in 2009 to charges of arson and fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer after investigators said he went into an Orange County home after an argument with his girlfriend.

Records show he received 35 years of community supervision, and while under supervision, he was picked up for a series of probation violations, culminating in 2012 with an aggravated battery and aggravated assault charge in Orange County, stemming from a fight with another girlfriend.

Lindsey was released when the state couldn't file charges after 30 days.

Lindsey was arrested last month for grand theft, a violation of his 35 year probation. His probation officer recommended 180 days in jail, but Volusia County Judge James Clayton agreed to a deal between prosecutors and defense attorneys that released Lindsey so he could pay restitution for a previous arson conviction.

"I don't know why somebody would get community control until the year 2045," Mina said. "In my opinion, based on what I know, I think that person should have been behind bars."

The Florida Department of Corrections said Wednesday that a probation officer regulary met with Lindsey, including three days before the standoff.

Numbers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement show there were 8,000 reported incidents of domestic violence for Orange County in 2017, an increase from the previous year.

If you or anyone you know is the victim of domestic violence, click here for resources to get help. 

Download the free WFTV News & Weather apps

Cox Media Group