MOUNT DORA, Florida— The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has released details about the apprehension of Zachery Waldo Wednesday.
Waldo, 36, was tracked down by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force that includes a deputy from LCSO, LCSO Lt. Fred Jones told Inside Lake.
He was found at Lakeside Inn, 100 Alexander Street, a popular downtown Mount Dora hotel, shortly before 11 a.m.
“They boxed him in, in the parking lot,” Jones said.
A $10,000 reward was being offered for information leading to Waldo’s capture, but no one will be getting the reward because the Marshals developed information on their own and found him, Jones said.
Waldo disappeared on a lunch break during his DUI manslaughter trial March 14 where he stood accused of killing three members of the same family in Leesburg in 2019.
On Christmas Eve 2019, Waldo was driving a 2019 Dodge Ram around 8:30 p.m. eastbound on Dixie Avenue approaching Dozier Court, when a 2018 Toyota Corolla being driven by Christopher Smith attempted to make a left turn on Dozier Court from westbound Dixie Avenue, Leesburg Police Capt. Joe Iozzi said following the crash.
The event data recorder (EDR) for the Ram recorded the Ram’s speed at 84.5 mph one tenth of a second from the time of impact, but just 2 seconds before the Ram was traveling at 96.3 mph, according to the report. The posted speed limit is 35 mph, and a witness told LPD the Ram did not slow down, and the brake lights did not illuminate. A witness also put Waldo behind the wheel just before the crash and DNA confirmed, Iozzi told Inside Lake.
The front of the Ram struck right side of the Toyota, killing Smith, 44, and his wife, Jessica Smith, 35, both of Eustis. They were pronounced dead on the scene. The couple’s two children,11-year-old Hunter and 13-year-old Hailey, who were passengers in the Toyota, were taken to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children for treatment. Hailey succumbed to her injuries and died on Christmas Day.
Waldo and his passenger, Kevin Cunningham, 33, were taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center for their injuries. LPD obtained hospital records and Waldo was found to have an alcohol level twice the legal limit, along with amphetamines and benzos in his system, according to the report.
Upon searching the Ram, LPD found a loaded Ruger .40 caliber handgun stolen from Mount Dora, six sandwich bags containing 157.8 grams of marijuana and six cell phones, according to the report.
A warrant was issued for Waldo’s arrest in 2020 and in August of that year, LCSO deputies and U.S. Marshals were conducting surveillance and spied Waldo getting into a black Dodge SUV. Waldo drove out of a neighborhood on Chain O Lakes Road near Grand Island and rolled a stop sign at County Road 44, according to an arrest affidavit. An LCSO deputy attempted a traffic stop and Waldo sped off, running other vehicles off the road. Multiple units attempted to stop Waldo and he struck an LCSO patrol car and crashed through a fence on Tall Oak Court, the affidavit states.
Waldo fled on foot and hid in the bushes of a home on Grand Island Oaks Circle and asked for a ride from a man returning home from work. The man denied him the ride and Waldo took off again and jumped over a fence to Laurel Crest Court. He was found lying on the ground wearing nothing but underwear, the affidavit states.
Three days later, he posted a $148,000 bond and was released from LCJ.
Waldo stood trial in March 2023 for the crimes. He was still out on bond and not in custody, so he was allowed to leave the courthouse during a lunch break He never came back from that break on the second day of his trial. LPD, LCSO and U.S. Marshals began searching for him immediately and he was found guilty in absentia by a jury the same day.
A little more than a month ago, Waldo’s girlfriend, Melinesia Shauntel Jones, 32, was arrested for her part in helping him elude capture. Jones was charged in March with principal to failure to appear, accessory after the fact to DUI manslaughter, false information to law enforcement in a felony investigation, and accessory after the fact to DUI with serious bodily injury. Her home on East Street in Leesburg was searched by U.S. Marshals and LPD, but Waldo was not there. Jones was arrested and held for a month at the Lake County Jail, before being released Thursday on $13,000 bond.
Waldo, now charged with failure to appear, is being held on no bond.
