Multiple Broward Sheriff’s deputies have been placed on leave amid the investigation into a triple murder in Tamarac, Sheriff Gregory Tony said Wednesday, calling it a “piss-poor performance” by several investigators.
Multiple Broward Sheriff's deputies have been placed on leave amid the investigation into a triple murder in Tamarac, Sheriff Gregory Tony said Wednesday, calling it a "piss-poor performance" by several investigators.
The employees were placed on leave following an internal affairs investigation into possible shortcomings in the Sunday morning killings and the events that led up to it, Tony said at a news conference.
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"It's inexcusable that individuals fail to perform their job, and it's not an excuse within anything from administration to policies to protocols to training, it's just bulls--t work by other officers," Tony said. "This is just individuals not doing what they're supposed to do. I'm regrettably sorry to bring that to this family because they're hearing this right now and it doesn't bring any solace to them, it only hurts them even more because I'm basically saying we had a chance to save your loved one's life and we failed."
The seven employees placed on leave with pay include two sergeants, a lieutenant and four deputies, Tony said.
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"We fell short on this one, we fell short in the response in terms of how some of the patrol personnel had documented certain facts related to calls going back to December," Tony said. "It's clear that some of the investigative practices conducted by detectives was also a shortfall."
TRAGEDY IN TAMARAC
The tragedy unfolded around 6 a.m. Sunday on North Plum Bay Parkway in Tamarac.
BSO officials said 43-year-old Nathan Gingles gunned down his estranged wife, 34-year-old Mary Gingles, her father, 64-year-old David Ponzer, and their neighbor, 36-year-old Andrew Ferrin.
According to an arrest warrant, Nathan Gingles shot and killed Ponzer as he was having a cup of coffee on the back patio of his daughter's home.
He then pursued his estranged wife and shot and killed her in a neighbor's home while also killing the neighbor, Ferrin, the warrant said.
The shocking killings were committed in front of the Gingles' 4-year-old daughter, the warrant said.
An Amber Alert was issued for the daughter, who was found safe with Nathan Gingles at a Walmart in North Lauderdale later Sunday morning.
Gingles was arrested on three first-degree murder charges along with kidnapping, child abuse, child neglect, burglary and interference with custody.
According to the warrant, BSO had initially responded to the neighborhood after receiving a 911 call of shots fired where a female's voice could be heard screaming "Oh my God!"
BSO started searching the area and set up a perimeter, and while they were doing so, Sgt. Travis Allen "observed what appeared to him as an adult white male, clad in all black clothing including a black hooded sweatshirt and pants, walking southbound along East GrandDuke Circle with a small female child who was without shoes," the warrant said. "This information was broadcasted, via radio, however, due to the unknown circumstances of the call, deputies continued to canvass the area."
Those two people are believed to be Nathan Gingles and his daughter, who were also apparently captured on video walking in the neighborhood shortly after the shootings.
The warrant also said that another surveillance video showed the suspect in all black walking through the neighborhood with the child, and Allen said they resembled the same ones seen in the video.
The 45-year-old Allen, who has been with BSO for 18 years, is one of the employees who was placed on leave, Tony said.
"On the surface, just seeing some of the things we found in the first couple hours, remember, 24 hours, were were already looking into this, it was clear that we're gonna have to address this more, we're gonna have to come to the public and let them know what the hell happened," Tony said. "This is just a matter of what I've seen of piss-poor performance, complacency and people not doing their due diligence."
Court records show Mary and Nathan Gingles were going through a contentious divorce. She had obtained two domestic violence injunctions against him and said he had threatened to kill her.
She obtained a domestic violence injunction against him in February 2024 and filed for divorce 11 days later.
She dropped the first injunction in July after her husband agreed to a “no harmful conduct” order.
In October, she said she discovered a tracking device on her car, one identical to one her husband had purchased weeks earlier – something she reported to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
"It's clear that we probably could have done more on that element, and that's what we're looking at, in terms of what the deputies' responsibilities were at that time," Tony said Wednesday. "These aren't shortcomings of policies, procedures training or equipment from my assessment, this is really just a shortcoming of performance, whether it be complacency, not taking a greater interest, and not doing a due diligence to make sure that they're documented and everything in an accurate manner so that when it does arrive in the investigator's hand they have a comprehensive report that allows them to make better judgment and decisions."
In late December, Mary Gingles reported to the sheriff's office finding stashed in her garage elements of what could be a murder kit: plastic gloves, plastic wrap, zip-tie restraints, crushed white powder, shoe and hair coverings and a note: “air embolism, psych medications, waterboarding.” She noted he had access to syringes for injecting testosterone.
“I think it is imminent that he will attempt to murder me,” she wrote, in obtaining the second injunction in December, which was extended to March 19.
"At that time based on the evidence and things that were presented, there was enough there where we could have potentially pursued a probable cause affidavit so we could arrest him and take him off the street and that didn't happen, we know that," Tony said.
The other employees placed on leave include Sgt. Devoune Williams, a 51-year-old with 20 years of service, Lt. Michael Paparella, a 50-year-old with 28 years of service and Deputy Joseph Sasso, a 57-year-old with eight years of service. Deputy Ilany Ceballos, 27, and Deputy Brittney King, 29, both with five years of service, were also placed on leave, along with Dania Beach Deputy Daniel Munoz, a 29-year-old who also has five years of service.
"There will be people who will lose their job over this, and I'm focused on making sure that they don't win a damn arbitration, because that happens too repeatedly in this profession," Tony said. "This investigation will include every single administrator from the captain, the district commander, all the way down, no one is gonna get a pass on this, and if anyone fell short, they will not survive this."
Tony also had a message for residents, saying he wanted the public to not lose faith in BSO.
"To the community, I just want to leave them with some level of assurance, just let them know that we understand what our shortcomings were in this incident and that we're gonna get them right," he said.
