WEKIVA SPRINGS, Fla. — Some Wekiva Springs parents are horrified after finding out their neighbor was investigated for allegedly having child pornography in his home.
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said the man reached for a gun as he was being arrested. That’s when a deputy shot and killed him.
Neighbors of 68-year-old Gary Guckenberger are in shock after learning he was under investigation for allegedly having more than 100 sexually explicit videos and pictures involving children.
One neighbor said, “I’m wondering, as a mom, how far back he’s been doing this absolute heinous thing.”
Lemma said, “We know at least on one occasion where he communicated with another woman about engaging in sexual activity with her child. And at this point, we don’t believe that that has ever occurred.”
Neighbor Debbie Hicks was there moments after the shooting. She said, ”I saw them trying to do CPR on him. That was kind of upsetting because you kept seeing his head going up and down.”
Investigators say Guckenberger retired from the Seminole County Fire Department in 2013. He started working there in 1984.
Sheriff Lemma says,
“I would imagine that the members of the fire department and the fire chief are incredibly concerned about this,” Lemma said,
Hicks said he had been retired a long long time because of health reasons.
WFTV asked the Seminole County Fire Department for his personnel file. They’re still working on that request.
Lemma hopes people contact the agency if they had any suspicious interaction with Guckenberger. Anyone with information should call Crimeline at 800-423-8477.
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