Woman jailed for pointing gun at church

A woman who pulled a gun at a San Marcos church on Sunday won’t be repeating the behavior anytime soon.

Florida Mihalache, who allegedly displayed the pistol at Westover Baptist Church, is not only jailed on bonds totaling more than $30,000, she’s also on hold for ICE, according online Hays County Jail records. 

Mihalache, 31, who lists an address in Houston, reportedly arrived at the church in the 1300 block of Advance Street around 11 a.m. asking for money to repair her vehicle.

Learning she wouldn’t immediately be given cash, she handled her handbag in such a way as to indicate she had a gun in it. Police were called and she left. She returned that afternoon and pointed a pistol at a member of the church’s volunteer security team. Police were called again and she once again fled, but was arrested at a San Marcos store later that day. 

Westover Pastor Jeff Latham said he met and prayed with Mihalache, who initially arrived during services and was accompanied by two children. “The kids were cute, they were dressed nicely and she was dressed nicely,” Latham recalled. He said he told her the church would try to help, at first summoning a youth pastor who is a mechanic to look at the van.

“He said he didn’t have the tools to repair it,” the pastor said. Then, Latham tried to convince Mihalache to meet with the church’s Benevolence Committee. “We help people all over town all the time,” Latham said. “I told her, ‘don’t sweat it, we’ll help you but you’ve got to meet with some people to figure out how to truly help you.’” After that, she responded with “strange behavior.”

“It was just in her mind it wasn’t going her way. It began to build up in her mind that we were against her,” Latham said. He explained that at that time, he was due to leave for a funeral in Seguin and that there were day-long craft  activities for children inside the sanctuary. “We have people everywhere, all having a good time, and all of this is going on in the parking lot and around the church.”

He said when the woman returned, a member of the security detail approached her van and she pointed a revolver at him. “He felt like he was totally going to be shot,” Latham said, adding that the security team member drew his own weapon, after which Mihalache sped off again.

Latham said the decision to form a volunteer church security detail was made on the heels of the massacre at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs last year. Latham, who is chaplain for the San Marcos Police Department, said he called Police Chief Chase Stapp the day after that tragedy.

“We began locking doors and getting security set up,” he said. Church members have also attended many of the training sessions the SMPD has held regarding civilian response to active shooter situations.

“We are all in this together. If it could happen in Sutherland Springs, it could happen anywhere ... We believe God is going to protect us, but we also believe in being prepared.” The whole situation, he said, was “just the saddest scenario.”

Mihalache was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which is a second degree felony. She was also charged with making a terroristic threat. It was unknown if she was still in county custody Tuesday or had been transferred to the custody of ICE.