In the early hours of June 23, 2025, a routine traffic stop in Summerfield quickly spiraled into a nightmare scenario for a deputy from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The incident involved a driver who turned out to be far more dangerous than she initially appeared.
Just after 1:00 a.m., Deputy Gillard spotted an orange Ford Mustang run a stop sign and drift partially into the opposite lane, nearly colliding with another vehicle. He initiated a traffic stop as the car pulled into a residential driveway on Southeast 95th Court.
Behind the wheel was a woman who identified herself as “Briana Mason.” From the first few minutes, things felt off. She hesitated when asked basic questions, struggled to explain why she had someone else’s identification, and gave inconsistent answers about the vehicle.
Deputy Gillard quickly realized something was wrong. He had actually pulled over the real Briana Mason only a few days earlier.
The driver’s real name was soon revealed to be Rihanna Harden, a 22-year-old with a criminal record and a suspended license. She admitted she had given her friend’s identity to avoid another charge for driving while suspended.
At that point, the stop shifted from routine traffic enforcement to an investigation.
A Hidden Weapon and a Crucial Oversight
Harden was placed in handcuffs and seated in the back of the patrol car while deputies searched her pockets and the vehicle. They discovered drugs and paraphernalia but nothing that indicated the situation was about to turn deadly.
What the deputies did not realize was that Harden had concealed a handgun in one of the last places officers are typically allowed to search during roadside pat-downs. Because male deputies cannot legally perform a full search of a female suspect in that area without a female officer present, the weapon remained hidden.
That oversight would soon become critical.
While officers were busy questioning a passenger and dealing with residents who had come outside to see what was happening, Harden began quietly working on her escape plan in the back seat of the cruiser.
She slipped out of her handcuffs.
The interior camera captured parts of what happened next. Harden shifted to the other side of the back seat, lowered the partition separating her from the front, and even tried to obscure the camera with her hat.
Meanwhile, outside the vehicle, deputies continued their search of the Mustang and questioned the passenger. No one realized the suspect in the patrol car was now free of her restraints and armed.
Gunfire Inside a Moving Patrol Car
Eventually the traffic stop wrapped up. Harden was formally arrested for driving with a suspended license, providing false identification, and drug possession. Deputy Gillard began transporting her to jail.
That drive nearly cost him his life.
While the patrol car was moving, Harden again slipped out of her cuffs, pulled the concealed handgun, and fired several shots from the back seat through the protective partition toward the deputy.
Gunfire inside a moving police car is about as chaotic as it sounds.
Deputy Gillard managed to stop the vehicle, bail out, and return fire while calling in “shots fired” over the radio. Bullets struck the patrol car as he took cover nearby, unsure whether he had been seriously injured.
Within minutes, additional deputies flooded the area along U.S. Highway 441 near a Racetrack gas station. Officers quickly sealed off the road and surrounded the patrol vehicle where Harden remained trapped in the back seat.
The standoff did not last long.
Surrender, Sentencing, and a Miraculous Escape from Death
After repeated commands, Harden placed her hands out the window and surrendered. Deputies approached carefully with shields and removed her from the vehicle without further gunfire. A handgun was recovered nearby after she tossed it out of the window.
Miraculously, the injuries were minor. Deputy Gillard suffered only a grazing wound to his face. Harden also reported a minor injury to her shoulder.
The legal consequences were far more severe.
Prosecutors charged Harden with attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, methamphetamine possession, providing false identification, driving while license revoked, and several related offenses.
On February 16, 2026, the case reached its conclusion. Harden was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
For the deputy who lived through it, the outcome could easily have been very different.