Gainesville Police Department Files Risk Protection Order on Pastors’ Nephew
The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) filed a risk protection order last week on Victor Bruce in civil court to remove his right to own a firearm.
Bruce was arrested last month for allegedly pulling a gun on officers when they served a Baker Act at his residence. GPD responded after some of his family members reported that he made threats towards Ignite Life Center (ILC) church.
Bruce’s arrest came a week after he called for his uncle, ILC head pastor Mark Vega, to be arrested for forming a private meeting with other ILC pastors to cover up child sexual abuse.
Bruce appeared for his civil hearing Thursday morning with Judge Susanne Bullard. GPD was represented by Assistant City Attorney Zouzouko Doualehi.
Court records show GPD was represented by Assistant City Attorney Lee Libby, but he did not talk the entire hearing and let Doualehi present their case.
Bruce had the option of voluntarily entering the risk protection order or entering a hearing. He chose to enter a hearing. Attorneys are not provided by the government in civil cases, so Bruce had to represent himself.
Bullard said the hearing was not recorded because it isn’t required to be. However, she said the outcome and contents of the hearing may be taken into consideration in Bruce’s alleged police assault case.
Three of Bruce’s family members who were referenced on his Meridian intake form appeared as witnesses: his uncle Anthony Rosario, his cousin Michel Rey, and his mother Lisa Bruce. All witnesses testified separately.
Rosario, Rey and Lisa Bruce are active members of ILC, with Rosario being appointed a pastor in late 2024.
Anthony Rosario’s Testimony:
Rosario was called to the stand first. Doualehi asked him how he knew Victor Bruce and for some background information on his well-being.
Rosario replied that he was fairly close with Victor Bruce but that he had been distant recently.
Rosario recalled an incident at his residence where he discovered several firearms in the room Victor Bruce was staying in.
Rosario said he asked Victor Bruce to pick up the guns and put them away, which he did. Rosario said the incident concerned him because he wasn’t previously aware his nephew owned guns.
Recalling another incident, Rosario claimed that Victor Bruce made “satanic” statements because he said he “wanted people at the church to die.” Rosario said that Victor Bruce did not threaten any specific acts of harm against any specific people.
Rosario said that he did not tell any of his family members about Victor Bruce’s statement until two days after. He said he consulted Chat GPT, calling it “like Google.” Rosario said the artificial intelligence told him to contact the police.
Rosario said he cares for Victor Bruce’s well-being.
Bullard asked Rosario several questions to try and see if there was any underlying motivation behind Victor Bruce’s words.
Rosario said that Victor Bruce was a victim of abuse at a young age and then again as a teenager while attending ILC.
Rosario did not clarify the specifics of Victor Bruce’s abuse.
Before Rosario was dismissed, Bullard asked Victor Bruce if he had any questions for his uncle. Victor Bruce said he didn’t have any questions but wanted to clarify that what happened to him at ILC wasn’t just regular abuse as Rosario stated, but sexual molestation by former ILC youth counselor Gabriel Hemenez.
Hemenez was convicted, and he is serving a five-year prison sentence for his crimes, but he has a new criminal case pending for more child molestation charges.
Victor Bruce’s statements sent a wave of emotions around the courtroom. A group of law students attending the hearing had looks of shock on their faces. One of the courtroom clerks frequently glanced up at Victor Bruce’s video screen with a look of sadness and concern.
Michel Rey’s Testimony:
Rey was called up to the stand second. Doualehi asked him how he knew Victor Bruce and for some background information on his well-being.
Rey called Victor Bruce one of his “Day 1’s” as they had known each other as cousins for a long time.
Rey recalled a time he and Victor Bruce were driving near ILC and he said he would “shoot up the church.” Rey said he “rebuked” Victor Bruce for his statement but was adamant that he made the comment in a joking manner and wasn’t seriously threatening anyone.
Rey went on to allege that Victor Bruce “pushed his autistic brother.” Victor Bruce denied the allegation, saying it simply didn’t happen.
Bullard asked Rey about Victor Bruce’s firearm ownership. Rey responded that Victor Bruce owned several firearms. Rey listed the specific make and model of each of them, along with a piece of body armor.
Victor Bruce said that Rey gifted him the body armor.
Bullard asked about Victor Bruce’s intentions when buying the guns and if he had training.
Rey responded that he personally taught Victor Bruce to shoot with his experience in the U.S. Army.
Rey said his cousin didn’t have any ill intentions when purchasing the guns and said it was reasonable he would want the firearms. Rey recalled a time Victor Bruce told him someone was trying to break to his residence, where he lived with his mom and two special needs brothers.
Rey opened up that he was also a victim of Gabriel Hemenez’s sexual abuse, saying he was the first victim.
Rey alluded to Victor Bruce’s similar experiences throughout his testimony, saying they processed the trauma differently.
Rey said that ILC church was not there for him when Hemenez sexually abused him but that he was able to cope with support from some of his family members. Rey joined the U.S. Army sometime after the incident occurred before moving back to Gainesville.
Lisa Bruce’s Testimony:
Lisa Bruce was the last of Victor Bruce’s family members to be called to the witness stand.
Doualehi asked Lisa Bruce to describe her relationship with her son, and she began sobbing and asked for tissues. After a few moments, Doualehi asked if the experience with her son was “negative.”
Lisa Bruce responded, “I wouldn’t say it’s a negative experience; I love my son.” She went on to describe the experience as a “roller coaster.”
Doualehi asked Lisa Bruce to give him some examples of her son’s behavior. She described Victor Bruce as “short-tempered” and “anxious.”
Lisa Bruce went on to talk about her son’s trip to New York in January of this year, saying Victor Bruce was more distant after he returned.
Doualehi asked Lisa Bruce if her son ever spoke about harming himself, and she said, “When he’d get anxious or upset or thought maybe I didn’t understand why he was frustrated.” She said she recalled two occasions where he made a comment about suicide.
Doualehi asked Lisa Bruce if her son ever tried to harm anyone in their family. She claimed there was an incident where they were arguing about a phone while she was driving and he “pulled the steering wheel.”
Doualehi asked Lisa Bruce if she called law enforcement to Baker Act her son, and she said she did.
Lisa Bruce said the day her son was Baker Acted, he told her he wanted to ride with her to church, but she said she couldn’t due to scheduling conflicts.
Lisa Bruce said she told Victor Bruce to take an Uber, and he got angry and made a comment about wanting to commit suicide. She said this ultimately led to her calling the police.
Doualehi asked Lisa Bruce to clarify what church she was talking about.
“Ignite,” Lisa Bruce responded.
Doualehi asked Lisa Bruce if she believed her son posed a “danger to himself or others.” She said she believed he would “hurt himself.”
Bullard asked Lisa Bruce if she believed her son would hurt anyone at the church physically, and she said she didn’t think so.
Bullard asked if Victor Bruce was on any medication.
“I don’t know,” responded Lisa Bruce.
Bullard asked if Victor Bruce was in any mental health counseling, and Lisa Bruce said he’d sometimes let her know he was going into a therapy session.
Lisa Bruce said she recommended a program to Victor Bruce called “Teen Challenge.”
The Teen Challenge website states, “At the heart of addiction and harmful behavior is a void that only God can fill—which is why a deep, personal relationship with Christ is foundational to everything we do.”
Victor Bruce said the treatment program his mother recommended was ineffective because Teen Challenge is faith-based and focuses on substance abuse.
Bullard asked Lisa Bruce if she was concerned about her son owning guns.
Lisa Bruce said “No” because their family was “in the process of buying land,” appearing to imply that she figured the guns could be for hunting.
Bullard asked Lisa Bruce what her son “specifically said” about self-harm, and she responded, “I think he was just upset with me and wanted my attention.”
Bullard asked Victor Bruce if he had any questions for his mom. Victor Bruce said his mom was aware he was sexually abused by a family member when he was under ten years old.
Victor Bruce said Lisa Bruce was getting a divorce from his father, and they were living with their family member. He said she became aware of the sexual abuse but did not immediately move out of the residence.
Lisa Bruce appeared to shake her head as Victor Bruce was talking, and she said that she was escaping an abusive relationship. She said she left two weeks after finding out. Lisa Bruce said she wasn’t aware of any mandatory reporting laws.
Victor Bruce mentioned that when he told his mother about the sexual abuse Hemenez committed against him she recommended he go into the military like Rey did.
Dustin Johnson’s Testimony:
GPD Officer Dustin Johnson was the last witness to testify. Johnson is not the alleged victim in Victor Bruce’s alleged police assault case, but he wrote the Meridian intake form and responded to his residence with other officers to serve the Baker Act.
Johnson said that he and the other officers on the night shift heard from the day shift that they should try to contact Victor Bruce because of the concerning statements he made to his family.
Doualehi asked Johnson how he knew Victor Bruce had a gun on him.
Johnson replied, “It was on his hip.”
Doualehi asked Johnson to explain what happened when the officers placed Victor Bruce under the Baker Act.
Johnson replied, “I thought of a ruse. I told him we would be taking pictures of him as part of documentation before we left and part of that is ‘Can you put your hands up for me?’ So he does that and we grab him and once we do that, that’s when we tried to place him in handcuffs for the Baker Act. He’s resisting by pulling away from us, tensing up, being uncooperative.”
Doualehi asked Johnson if he saw Victor Bruce “reach for anything.”
Johnson said, “Yes…. While we were trying to place him in handcuffs—umm—trying to keep him under control…. At one point he freed his arm enough that he was able to reach for his gun on his hip, but at that point Ofc. Murriello was already taking it off his person.”
Doualehi asked if Victor Bruce made any concerning statements during the Baker Act. Johnson said Victor Bruce told officers to “shoot him.”
Johnson said that he was “informed” of Victor Bruce’s arrest a day or two after the Baker Act.
Victor Bruce said Johnson was the officer who served his warrant at Meridian, contradicting his statement that he was “informed” of his arrest.
Victor Bruce said Johnson made him uncomfortable due to him bearing a resemblance to Hemenez.
Victor Bruce went on to talk about the outcome of the settled civil lawsuits over ILC covering up Hemenez’s sexual abuses, as he was one of the plaintiffs.
Victor Bruce said there was no settlement because ILC “didn’t have any financial offerings.” He said that there was supposed to be a verbal agreement between himself and ILC to promise reconciliation. He said after he returned from New York, his mental state declined because ILC didn’t hold up their end of the agreement.
In his closing argument, Doualehi told Bullard that it’s the City’s position that Victor Bruce would pose a “significant risk” if in possession of a firearm.
Court records show Bullard decided to grant GPD's risk protection order, removing Victor Bruce's right to own a firearm.
