A Leesburg man is behind bars after police say he ignored a domestic-violence protection order barring him from a victim's home and showed up anyway to collect a 65-inch television. Stevonta Lenard Sanders, 28, was arrested and booked without bond at Lake County Jail following the confrontation, which allegedly unfolded on October 1.
According to the arrest account reported by Leesburg-News.com, Sanders had been trying to recover the television for several weeks before the incident, texting the female victim to ask for it back. A police officer responded to a disturbance at a Leesburg residence that day, per the arrest report, after Sanders allegedly went to the victim's home to retrieve the set himself.
Per the reported account, Sanders entered the residence through an open side door on the east side of the house and made his way onto a semi-enclosed patio with an awning. He allegedly yelled, “On Bailey, you better give me my TV,” and grabbed the remote directly from the victim's hand before placing the television in his blue Chevrolet Impala, the outlet reported.
Protection Order Allegedly Ignored Entirely
The protection order at issue was reported to bar Sanders from coming within 500 feet of the victim's residence, within 100 feet of her vehicle, and from talking to her at all. That order was reported to remain valid through May 26, 2028 — meaning, according to the account, the civil injunction was still in effect when Sanders allegedly arrived.
When confronted, Sanders reportedly claimed his lawyer had told him he could be at the residence and that the injunction had been dropped. The victim showed police paperwork confirming the protection order remained valid, and dispatch likewise confirmed a valid domestic-violence protection order was in effect, according to the arrest report.
The reported account also describes additional conduct beyond the television dispute: Sanders allegedly visited his aunt, returned on a moped, repeatedly looked into the children's window, and taunted the victim when she went to the store, ultimately creating a disturbance. A witness told police she had been washing dishes in the kitchen and instructed the victim to stay in the back of the house while she retrieved the television herself.
What Florida Law Says About Injunction Violations
Sanders was charged with violation of a domestic-violence injunction, per the arrest report. Under Florida Statutes section 741.31, willfully violating a domestic-violence injunction by going to the protected person's residence or contacting that person is generally classified as a first-degree misdemeanor, subject to statutory exceptions. The same statute specifies that a person with a prior conviction for domestic violence or an injunction violation who later violates an injunction against the same victim can instead face a third-degree felony charge.
Florida law also allows a court to order a respondent into a batterers' intervention program after finding a willful violation, per the same statute. Protective orders themselves are established under Florida Statutes section 741.30, which creates a cause of action for an injunction for protection against domestic violence and requires a sworn petition stating the specific facts supporting the request.
For now, Sanders remains held without bond at Lake County Jail, according to the reported account.
