LECANTO, Fla. — Funeral services honoring Citrus County Deputy Andres ‘Andy’ Lahera happened on Sunday.
Lahera served as a deputy for 14 years and served as a school resource officer from 2018 to 2023 before he was injured in a car accident while directing traffic.
For those like Matt Taylor, it was a chance to say goodbye.
“Andy was a great person,” he said. “He was a good friend.”
Taylor worked with Lahera for around seven years and said that he loved working for his community, both as a deputy and as a school resource officer.
“If you knew Andy, he was a guy with one of the biggest hearts you’ve ever known,” he said. “As a resource officer or deputy, everybody loved him. Andy was that guy, man, everybody loved. Had a heart of gold.”
Todd Cridland, a school resource officer for the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, said every time he ran into Andy, he had a smile on his face.
Even after his accident, Todd said he kept battling.
“When you see Andy before the accident, you see this big guy that’s full of life, and that never left him,” he said. “Even though he wasn’t the same guy, he was still fighting with all that same strength that he’s had before.”
Lahera is survived by his wife and two sons.
Matt Lackritz
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