Help Levi with ER surgery bills after being shot.
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Levi Dustin Lindsey. I am a tattoo artist in Clearwater, Florida. Last week, I was at work in the tattoo shop when I received a call from a friend of mine, Giovelli. I noticed right before I answered the call, that I had 5 other missed calls from her. When I answered the phone, I heard Giovelli crying her eyes out and begging for me to come help her. I also could hear a man in the background yelling loudly at her. It seemed as if he was trying to control her physically. She sounded so scared. Feeling as if she may be in grave danger, and listening to this man talk aggressively towards her, I leave the shop and rush to go pick her up. I knew that regardless of what was going on, she needed my help, and she's my friend. I would help any friend, especially a woman, in that situation.
When I arrived to her house, she was on the corner 2 houses down. As I pulled up, she was crying "Where were you? Where were you?" I helped Giovelli get into the car, and we drove around the block to turn around. Geovelli explained that her roomate, Samantha, was at work, but that Samantha had her parents staying with them. They had just sold their home in New York. She explained that it was Samantha's father, Thomas, that I had heard yelling at her in the background. After we turned the car around, we passed back by Geovelli's house. Samantha’s mom, June, was in the driveway yelling and cursing loudly at Geovelli, who was in my car. I stopped the car to try to ask what was going on, and see if I could diffuse the situation. June began to curse me out, screaming that he (Thomas) didn’t hurt her (Geovelli) or something to that affect. June acted for a second like she was about to hit my car. It was all a super weird encounter. A few seconds later Sam's father Thomas walked out of the house. He began walking fast from the yard, through the parking lot, and to the street. He forcefully threw a bag of Geovelli’s clothes at my car, all the while yelling and antagonizing me and calling me out to fight. I was about to step out of my car and address the situation but Geovelli yelled for me not to, and to just bring her to the Samgelos Pizzeria, which Samantha owns and was working at that day.
While we were driving to the pizzeria, Giovelli explained to me that Thomas began raging on her because he believed he was being recorded from Geovelli's phone. We pulled up to the pizzeria and Geovelli got out of the car to go tell Samantha what had just happened. I stayed in the car while Geovelli was talking to Samantha. Samantha is Geovelli's friend/employer/roommate, and they needed to work out what had just happened at their home and with Samantha's parents.
While they were inside the pizzeria, Samantha’s dad Thomas drives up in his black suburban and pulls in behind me at the pizzeria. Thomas got out of his vehicle and proceeds to walk up to where I’m parked at. Thomas had already proven to be very volatile at the house, so I didn't want to be allow him to approach me while I was sitting in my car. It's not smart self defense. I got out of my car and put my phone on top of the roof. I wanted to understand what was going on, so as Thomas was approaching me, I calmly asked him "Why did you put your hands on Geovelli and manhandle her like that?" He immediately had an attitude and smirked as he replied "You don’t even know what’s going ****’ " He began approaching me aggressively again, this time getting so close that I felt threatened by the man, so out of a quick self-defense reaction, I punched him to keep him away. He took 2 steps backs, and at this point I realize that he is reaching for a gun. I raise my hands up over my head, and calmly tell him that "It doesn’t have to go this way. It’s not that serious." I explain that I’m not a threat to him. I felt like I was begging for my life. He wasn't listening, and if he was, he didn't care, because the man fired off a round and shot me in my left hip.
I immediately went into shock after being shot. My knee began to buckle. Thomas is screaming he is going to shoot me again and that he should've shot me in the chest. I was trying to crawl over toward's where Samantha was standing. She had walked outside. I was begging her to keep her Dad from shooting me again. I tried grabbing Samantha's leg, and she just shook me off and walked away. She literally watched her crazy Dad aggress me and shoot me, and then she left me on the ground. I knew that if I didn't help myself, that I was about to die in front of this place. At this point, I'm still begging Thomas not to shoot me. I began to slowly pull myself inch by inch over towards my car. I used every ounce of strength I had and pulled myself into the driver's seat.
Once in my car, I drove around the corner on Clearwater Beach to the tattoo shop that I was working at. I parked outside the door and laid on my car horn to get my coworker's attention. I was beginning to feel panic, and was in significant pain. There was a lot of blood. When my coworker came out of the tattoo shop, I asked him to drive me to the hospital. He started to help me get situated in the back seat of my car so that he could drive me. Luckily, somebody inside the shop called and ambulance. The ambulance showed up fairly quickly, and EMS personnel transferred me from the backseat of my car to the stretcher. I was taken to the ER and treated for a shattered femur bone. Surgery was required. A metal rod was inserted from my left knee all the way up my femur bone. It is pinned from the ball of the bone to the socket of my hip. In order for them to stabilize the break, they left the bullet lodged in my femur bone. They would have destroyed more bone and tissue trying to remove it.
All I was trying to do was help a friend, a woman no less, from a man that was clearly being abusive. This man aggressed and antagonized me while picking up my friend from her own home, followed us to the pizzeria, began actively aggressing me again, and then shot me. There are some crazy people in this world, and I am very grateful to be alive. The hospital bills alone are going to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I'll be out of work until my hip heals enough where I can sit or stand to be able to tattoo. Any donation you can make means everything to me. Even though I got hurt, I would endure it again to keep a friend or family member protected and safe. That's simply who I am in my heart.
God bless you and thank you.
When I arrived to her house, she was on the corner 2 houses down. As I pulled up, she was crying "Where were you? Where were you?" I helped Giovelli get into the car, and we drove around the block to turn around. Geovelli explained that her roomate, Samantha, was at work, but that Samantha had her parents staying with them. They had just sold their home in New York. She explained that it was Samantha's father, Thomas, that I had heard yelling at her in the background. After we turned the car around, we passed back by Geovelli's house. Samantha’s mom, June, was in the driveway yelling and cursing loudly at Geovelli, who was in my car. I stopped the car to try to ask what was going on, and see if I could diffuse the situation. June began to curse me out, screaming that he (Thomas) didn’t hurt her (Geovelli) or something to that affect. June acted for a second like she was about to hit my car. It was all a super weird encounter. A few seconds later Sam's father Thomas walked out of the house. He began walking fast from the yard, through the parking lot, and to the street. He forcefully threw a bag of Geovelli’s clothes at my car, all the while yelling and antagonizing me and calling me out to fight. I was about to step out of my car and address the situation but Geovelli yelled for me not to, and to just bring her to the Samgelos Pizzeria, which Samantha owns and was working at that day.
While we were driving to the pizzeria, Giovelli explained to me that Thomas began raging on her because he believed he was being recorded from Geovelli's phone. We pulled up to the pizzeria and Geovelli got out of the car to go tell Samantha what had just happened. I stayed in the car while Geovelli was talking to Samantha. Samantha is Geovelli's friend/employer/roommate, and they needed to work out what had just happened at their home and with Samantha's parents.
While they were inside the pizzeria, Samantha’s dad Thomas drives up in his black suburban and pulls in behind me at the pizzeria. Thomas got out of his vehicle and proceeds to walk up to where I’m parked at. Thomas had already proven to be very volatile at the house, so I didn't want to be allow him to approach me while I was sitting in my car. It's not smart self defense. I got out of my car and put my phone on top of the roof. I wanted to understand what was going on, so as Thomas was approaching me, I calmly asked him "Why did you put your hands on Geovelli and manhandle her like that?" He immediately had an attitude and smirked as he replied "You don’t even know what’s going ****’ " He began approaching me aggressively again, this time getting so close that I felt threatened by the man, so out of a quick self-defense reaction, I punched him to keep him away. He took 2 steps backs, and at this point I realize that he is reaching for a gun. I raise my hands up over my head, and calmly tell him that "It doesn’t have to go this way. It’s not that serious." I explain that I’m not a threat to him. I felt like I was begging for my life. He wasn't listening, and if he was, he didn't care, because the man fired off a round and shot me in my left hip.
I immediately went into shock after being shot. My knee began to buckle. Thomas is screaming he is going to shoot me again and that he should've shot me in the chest. I was trying to crawl over toward's where Samantha was standing. She had walked outside. I was begging her to keep her Dad from shooting me again. I tried grabbing Samantha's leg, and she just shook me off and walked away. She literally watched her crazy Dad aggress me and shoot me, and then she left me on the ground. I knew that if I didn't help myself, that I was about to die in front of this place. At this point, I'm still begging Thomas not to shoot me. I began to slowly pull myself inch by inch over towards my car. I used every ounce of strength I had and pulled myself into the driver's seat.
Once in my car, I drove around the corner on Clearwater Beach to the tattoo shop that I was working at. I parked outside the door and laid on my car horn to get my coworker's attention. I was beginning to feel panic, and was in significant pain. There was a lot of blood. When my coworker came out of the tattoo shop, I asked him to drive me to the hospital. He started to help me get situated in the back seat of my car so that he could drive me. Luckily, somebody inside the shop called and ambulance. The ambulance showed up fairly quickly, and EMS personnel transferred me from the backseat of my car to the stretcher. I was taken to the ER and treated for a shattered femur bone. Surgery was required. A metal rod was inserted from my left knee all the way up my femur bone. It is pinned from the ball of the bone to the socket of my hip. In order for them to stabilize the break, they left the bullet lodged in my femur bone. They would have destroyed more bone and tissue trying to remove it.
All I was trying to do was help a friend, a woman no less, from a man that was clearly being abusive. This man aggressed and antagonized me while picking up my friend from her own home, followed us to the pizzeria, began actively aggressing me again, and then shot me. There are some crazy people in this world, and I am very grateful to be alive. The hospital bills alone are going to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I'll be out of work until my hip heals enough where I can sit or stand to be able to tattoo. Any donation you can make means everything to me. Even though I got hurt, I would endure it again to keep a friend or family member protected and safe. That's simply who I am in my heart.
God bless you and thank you.
Organizer
Levi Lindsey
Organizer
Largo, FL