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Person of interest in deadly Leesburg park shooting taken into custody Thursday

Inside Scoop, Leesburg, Unincorporated Lake | By Marilyn M. Aciego | February 5, 2026 | Florida, Lake County, Leesburg, Shooting | 1 minute of reading

LEESBURG, Fla.— Nearly two months after a Grand Island teen’s murder, Leesburg police have one person of interest in custody, but another remains on the run.

According to Leesburg Police Department, the U.S. Marshal Fugitive Task Force took James Fenderson IV into custody early Thursday afternoon.

Fenderson IV, is a “person of interest” in the murder of Juan Gomez Jr., 18, who was found dead shortly before 1 p.m. Dec. 14, 2025 in a vehicle at Berry Park, 2121 Johns Avenue, after LPD responded to a report of a shooting victim, LPD Chief Joe Iozzi said in December.

Police continue to search for D’Yuntre Wright, a second “person of interest,” in the murder.

If you have information on Wright’s whereabouts, call LPD’s criminal investigations division at 352-728-9862 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Crimeline callers may be eligible for a reward.

About The Author

Marilyn M. Aciego

Publisher Marilyn M. Aciego was born and raised in Lake County and is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She began her journalism career at LSSC and in 2023 she was honored with LSSC’s Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement Award. She began working at the Daily Commercial while she was in college and continued her career there as a reporter after she graduated. In her 20+ year-career, she covered many of the area’s top stories including the disappearance of Trenton Duckett and the death of beloved Sheriff Chris Daniels. She has landed many exclusive interviews and was the first to break two of the biggest stories of 2024- the death of Jamaria Sessions and the murder of a Lake County Sheriff's Office deputy and the attempted murder of two other deputies. In addition to Inside Lake, Marilyn is the single mom of a teenaged son and the Florida Bureau Chief for an international media organization.

About The Author

Marilyn M. Aciego

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