EUSTIS, Fla.—A man who was wanted for battery by one law enforcement agency and wanted for questioning by another was apprehended Thursday by Eustis Police Department.
According to an arrest affidavit, Deon Otis Grant, 18, was arrested for simple battery stemming from an incident Sunday at Winn Dixie, 1955 North State Road 19, Eustis. Around 5 p.m. EPD responded to the grocery store after the victim reported she was “inappropriately touched,” by a black male, later identified as Grant. She told officers she arrived at the store around 4:30 p.m. and noticed Grant “wandering” around the store without a shopping cart, which she thought was “strange.”
The victim finished her shopping and went to her vehicle to put her groceries away; Grant came up behind her and touched her buttocks “forcefully” with one hand. He then fled, running westbound through the parking lot and southbound on State Road 19. The victim said Grant never spoke to her, the affidavit states.
Police canvassed the area for Grant and were unable to find him. Surveillance video from Winn Dixie showed him walking into the store with a yellow bag and officers went to a nearby Dollar General store and obtained better footage of him in that store.
On Wednesday, Mount Dora Police Department released a “crime bulletin” with a photo of Grant taken from Target surveillance video. The bulletin stated Grant was taking photos of women at Target, 17450 U.S. Highway 441, Mount Dora. According to the bulletin, Target employees had been “aware of his presence for several weeks” and had asked him to leave the premises. Taking photos of someone in public is not a crime, but MDPD wanted to speak with him because his behavior was a “cause for concern.” Grant is not facing any criminal charges in Mount Dora, according to MDPD Spokesperson Misty Sommer, but he has been trespassed from Target.
EPD followed with its own bulletin Thursday and in a matter of hours, Grant was identified and taken into custody, EPD Sgt. Paul Barnett told Inside Lake.
“Patrol did a great job tracking him down,” Barnett said.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Thursday, a tipster called EPD and stated a man fitting Grant’s description was walking in the area of the Exxon gas station at State Road 19 and County Road 452, officers responded to the scene and spotted Grant. They approached him and identified him as the man in MDPD’s crime bulletin and Dollar General’s video surveillance. Grant was detained and admitted he was the man in both the crime bulletin and Dollar General’s surveillance video. When questioned about Winn Dixie, Grant invoked his right to an attorney, according to the affidavit. He was arrested for simple battery and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on $1,000 bond. Grant has no prior criminal history, according to the affidavit.
