FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – The man shot after a high-speed chase following a Walmart robbery Monday morning in Fernandina Beach was identified as a 32-year-old career criminal from Brunswick, Georgia.
Fernandina Beach police said Randy Scott Lingelbach tried to walk out of the Walmart on 14th Street with a television about 10:30 a.m.. When a loss prevention officer and assistant store manager who tried to confront him. Lingelbach threatened them with with a syringe, got into a pickup truck and sped away.
Police chased the truck, which turned out to be stolen, at speeds of up to 80 mph, with the pickup busting through construction barricades and making U-turns on Bonneview Road. He became trapped by police, rammed a police cruiser near Russell Road and landed in a ditch when he tried to make a U-turn.
As he continued to try to get the vehicle free, an officer fired shots, hitting Lingelbach one time in the head. He was airlifted to UF Health Jacksonville.
Fernandina Beach police Chief James Hurley said Lingelbach remained in critical condition Tuesday.
"He had a death wish, because he wasn't going to let up, he wasn't going to let them catch him," said Tim Waldrip, who was working in his backyard and witnessed the chase. "He was full-fledged, just wide open, didn't even hesitate to stop when he came across the barricades there and just busted through both barricades, and it was just clamped onto the front of his truck and he did not let down. And you could see the cops were just a few seconds right behind him."
Police identified the woman passenger in the pickup as Laura Harden, also of Burnswick. Officers said she appeared highly intoxicated, suffered a shoulder injury and was also hospitalized.
No officers were hurt. The officer who fired the shot was not named.
Neither Harden nor Lingelbach have been charged as of midday Tuesday, but police were working with Walmart on the robbery investigation.
Police said Lingelbach has been arrested more than 20 times on at least 69 charges, including burglary, assault, resisting arrest, tampering with evidence and other crimes.
The police-involved shooting is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.