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, the death of beloved Sheriff Chris Daniels, both in 2006 and an exclusive interview with then-Eustis Police Capt. Gary Winheim, who was ambushed and shot by a wanted felon in 2019. In addition to Inside Lake, Marilyn is the single mom of a teenaged son and the Florida Bureau Chief for an international media organization.

Former Tavares police officer nabbed on Volusia County burglary, theft charges

Inside Scoop, Tavares / By

TAVARES, Fla.—A former Tavares police officer is being held in the Lake County Jail on $171,000 bond, accused of burglarizing $50,000 worth of jewelry, along with credit and debit cards from a Volusia County home earlier this week.

Theodore “Teddy” Pearl, 28, is accused of stealing numerous pieces of jewelry from a home in DeBary that belonged to the grandparents of a juvenile friend of his, according to a Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO) charging affidavit.

VSO responded to the home on River Drive Monday when one of the homeowners reported her home had been burglarized while she and her husband were out of state on vacation. She told the deputy numerous pieces of jewelry were missing, including necklaces, bracelets, earrings and a ring, in addition to a passport, checkbooks, credit cards, a $500 speaker and extra vehicle fobs. The total value of the items is approximately $50,000, the affidavit states.

The victim said she felt the theft was personal. She told the deputy one of her grandsons was watching over the home while she was out of town, and he came to the home to help her look for the stolen items. Her grandson told the deputy that while he was looking, he observed a grey glove being placed over her Ring camera. While the deputy was speaking to him, the victim advised her stepdaughter had found the victim’s checkbooks and a gold pendant in her juvenile son’s room. The deputy noted the juvenile had been arrested for a violation of probation around the time of the burglary.

On Wednesday, a VSO detective received the burglary report and traveled to the Detention Juvenile Justice Center to interview the juvenile. First, the boy said he was unaware of the burglary at his grandmother’s home, but later changed his story and said he and Pearl, a friend of his, were texting back and forth and agreed to meet up. The juvenile told the detective, Pearl “used to be a detective” for a law enforcement agency in the area and provided a Facebook and Instagram account with the name “Tee Juiced Up” for Pearl.

A search of the boy’s phone later revealed the conversation between the pair. An excerpt of the conversation is below.

(Pearl): I want day wholeeee jewelry drawer (racial slur)

(Juvenile) N we gonna get itttt

(Pearl) You 100% know where dat jewelry key is right my (racial slur)?

(Juvenile) Ya

Pearl apparently responds he was ready to get the money, the affidavit states.

(Juvenile) I’m really hoping my grandparents have not gone back home yet and try to get me a small bottle of vodka so I’m not trippin when we do it.

(Pearl) (Expletive) bro if they home it gon (expletive) everything up.

(Pearl) We’d have to try and find cards or get into the truist account of some (expletive.) Why don’t you think they’re home yet?

 

Theodore “Teddy” Pearl was arrested on multiple charges stemming from a Volusia County burglary earlier this week. He was employed as a Tavares police officer for nearly three years before resigning late last year. PHOTO: Tavares Police Department

At 1:19 a.m. Tuesday, Pearl texted the juvenile and stated he’s 10 minutes away and to meet him at the stop sign down the street from the juvenile’s home. Pearl picked the juvenile up in his “burnt orange” Dodge Hellcat and reportedly told the juvenile he wanted to go to the victim’s house to steal items. The juvenile said they went to his grandmother’s home and collected jewelry, checkbooks and other documents from the home. The juvenile said he placed a glove over the ring camera, and he knew Pearl’s intentions were to sell or pawn the items for cash.

The detective ran a search of Pearl’s phone number in a pawn shop database and found two transactions at a Winter Park pawn shop that totaled more than $3,000. Detectives contacted the pawn shop owner who provided video surveillance that showed Pearl in the business and two distinct hand tattoos, one of a skeleton’s jaw on his right hand and a skeleton’s hand on his left. “Tee Juiced Up’s” social media pages did reveal a photo showing both tattoos, the affidavit states.

The pawn shop owner provided detectives with a photocopy of Pearl’s driver license and copies of the transactions that included Pearl’s personal information, including his name, date of birth and address. He listed his place of employment as Tavares PD. Inside Lake reached out to TPD’s public information officer Thursday morning and she confirmed Pearl resigned from TPD late last year on Dec. 27, 2023. The shop owner told detectives Pearl was contacting him with photos of more items he had to sell, and he provided those photos to detectives. The victim confirmed the items belonged to her, according to the affidavit.

Detectives determined there was probable cause for Pearl’s arrest for grand theft more than $20,000, fraud-swindle-obtain property under $20,000, burglary, dealing in stolen property and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was arrested in Lake County Wednesday night and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on $171,000 bond.

 

Former Tavares police officer nabbed on Volusia County burglary, theft charges Read More »

Scott May throws a bottle of Mountain Dew at a store clerk earlier this month in this still shot taken from the store's surveillance video. See the full video below.

Man who threw the “Dew” at Tavares store clerk turns himself in

Astatula, Inside Scoop, Tavares / By

TAVARES, Fla.—A man who threw a bottle of Mountain Dew at a Tavares gas station clerk earlier this month turned himself in on a warrant for battery Tuesday, according to Tavares Police Department.

On April 13, TPD responded to Kangaroo, 933 County Road 48 on a report of a battery. The complainant told officers a male customer was upset about difficulties with a self-checkout and a second clerk went to a register to begin ringing up customers. The man, later identified as Scott Francis May, began complaining about the wait, and said, “This is (expletive) ridiculous,” according to a report.

The clerk asked May if he wanted to come do her job and May began cursing at her and threw a 20-ounce Mountain Dew bottle at her, striking her in the chest or stomach. The incident was captured on the store’s surveillance video and TPD released the video on its social media page April 17 in an attempt to identify the man.

 

The following day, May, 62, of Astatula went to Tavares Police Department and admitted to throwing the soda at the clerk. May was “polite, respectful and remorseful,” while speaking with an officer and said he did not mean to hit the clerk, he only meant for the soda and a sandwich to land on the counter.

A warrant for battery was issued for May’s arrest Monday, and he turned himself in on Tuesday. He was released from the Lake County Jail on $1,000 bond.

 

Man who threw the “Dew” at Tavares store clerk turns himself in Read More »

PHOTO: Shannon Cook/Special to Inside Lake

Tavares Police investigating after young woman falls from 8th floor of parking garage

Inside Scoop, Tavares / By

TAVARES, Fla.—A young woman was airlifted to an area hospital after falling from the 8th floor of the Tavares parking garage Wednesday afternoon, according to Tavares Police Department.

TPD is on scene and still investigating, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake.

“It’s too soon to tell if she jumped or fell,” Sullivan said.

This is a developing story.

Tavares Police investigating after young woman falls from 8th floor of parking garage Read More »

Eustis Police Department performs a "high-risk" traffic stop on a domestic violence suspect near Ferran Park Wednesday night. Courtesy photo

Domestic violence incident ends in “high-risk” traffic stop and arrest in downtown Eustis Wednesday night

Eustis, Inside Scoop / By

EUSTIS, Fla.—A man accused of a domestic battery was arrested Wednesday night in downtown Eustis after leaving the scene of the incident with his mother.

Eustis Police Department responded to a home near the Lake County Fairgrounds around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on a report of physical domestic altercation and possible kidnapping. As officers arrived, dispatch advised the children were no longer in the car that left the scene, and the victim told officers all her children were at the home and not in the vehicle with her ex-husband. She said her youngest son was in the car with him, but she was able to remove the boy before John Barry Bates III left with his mother, according to an arrest affidavit.

The victim told police Bates, 37, head-butted her and was taking her children he did not have custody of. She told police she was at a local campus where she takes classes when she received a “distressing call” from her sister-in-law stating Bates was threatening to harm her sister-in-law’s husband and son. Bates was at the home caring for the victim’s two children, 8, and 14, according to an affidavit.

The victim said she immediately left school and went to the home and saw Bates and his mother driving away in a silver Honda with her youngest son. She panicked and began following Bates and honking her horn; Bates eventually stopped in the neighborhood and the victim took the boy from the vehicle. Bates then head-butted her, causing a cut and bruise under her left eye, and took the boy again.

The victim then called police and began following Bates and his mother, believing they were leaving the area. She followed them back to the home and removed her son from the backseat. Bates knocked her to the ground, removed her glasses, got back into the vehicle and threw a cup at the victim’s car and fled the scene before police arrived, she told officers.

An EPD officer spotted the Honda at the intersection of County Road 44 and County Road 452. The officer waited for additional units and when they arrived, EPD performed a “high-risk” traffic stop in the area of Ferran Park and Bates and his mother were ordered out of the car at gunpoint and detained.

Bates was “uncooperative and disgruntled” but then began to comply and told officers he picks up his son every day at the home at 3:30 p.m. and when he picked the boy up Wednesday, his ex-wife arrived and started walking towards his car. He said he exited the car and when he approached her, she head-butted him. Bates had a small cut on his forehead, the officer noted in the affidavit. He said he did not retaliate and got back into the car and left with his mother, who was driving. They stopped a few streets away and Bates said he walked his son back to the residence and then left with his mother. Officers asked him if he pushed or struck the victim and he said he wished to speak with his lawyer, the affidavit states.

Bates’ mother told police she went to the home with her son to pick up her grandson and the victim “appeared out of nowhere” and head-butted Bates and threw him to the ground and started yelling and they both left the home; Bates is 7 inches taller than the victim, the officer noted. Due to the injuries to the victim and Bates, statements and physical evidence, Bates was arrested for domestic battery and transported to the Lake County Jail. At press time he was being held on no bond. Bates’ mother was released on the scene. Inside Lake is not naming her because she was not charged with a crime.

Domestic violence incident ends in “high-risk” traffic stop and arrest in downtown Eustis Wednesday night Read More »

Tavares brothers-in-law found safe in Miami

Inside Scoop, Tavares / By

TAVARES, Fla.—The two Tavares men reported missing have been found, according to Tavares Police Department.

Richard Weis, 85, and his brother-in-law Charles Constable, 67, were located in Miami and are alive and safe, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake.

No other information was available at press time.

Previous story: Silver Alert issued for 2 Tavares men – Inside Lake

Tavares brothers-in-law found safe in Miami Read More »

Courtesy photo

Major law enforcement presence in missing Mount Dora mom’s former neighborhood Friday

Inside Scoop, Mount Dora / By

MOUNT DORA, Fla.—Multiple law enforcement agencies could be seen Friday searching multiple bodies of water in the neighborhood where Mount Dora mom Nicole Baldwin was reported missing in November 2023.

Dive teams from several Central Florida sheriff’s offices converged on Lancaster at Loch Leven beginning around 8 a.m. Friday and searched multiple bodies of water and retention ponds near Strathmore Circle where Baldwin was reported missing by her daughter Alisha Baldwin in early November 2023, Mount Dora Police Department Spokesperson Misty Sommer told Inside Lake Friday. Dive teams from Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Groveland Fire Department, and Search and Rescue of Central Florida, according to LCSO.

Courtesy photo

Numerous residents reached out to Inside Lake Friday morning concerned about the large law enforcement presence in their neighborhood. This search comes less than week after another large-scale ground search was conducted Saturday in east Eustis, also with multiple agencies, Sommer told Inside Lake last week.

Baldwin, 41, who has been missing for nearly six months, is described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 135 pounds, with brown and dyed blonde hair and hazel eyes. If you have information on Baldwin’s disappearance, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Crimeline callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

Previous story: Multiple law enforcement agencies search for missing Mount Dora mom Saturday – Inside Lake

 

Major law enforcement presence in missing Mount Dora mom’s former neighborhood Friday Read More »

Silver Alert issued for 2 Tavares men

Inside Scoop, Tavares / By

Update: Richard Weis, 85, and his brother-in-law Charles Constable, 67, were located in Miami and are alive and safe.

TAVARES, Fla.—Tavares Police Department is searching for two men who were last seen in Altamonte Springs around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, according to TPD Spokesperson Courtney Sullivan

Tavares residents Richard Weis, 85, and his brother-in-law Charles Constable, 67, are believed to be traveling in a grey 2019 Jeep Cherokee Limited with license plate Z7XKE and dark tinted windows and a “Sheriffs 2024” sticker on the driver side rear window.

Weis has undiagnosed dementia and is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, 185 pounds and was wearing a green plaid shirt and possibly grey shorts.

Constable has been diagnosed with dementia and is also described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, 185 pounds and was wearing a black sweatshirt with blue plaid pajama pants.

If you see Weis or Constable, call 911, or you have non-emergency information, call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 352-343-2101, option 4.

Silver Alert issued for 2 Tavares men Read More »

File photo

Tavares motorcyclist killed in Leesburg crash Saturday

Inside Scoop, Leesburg, Tavares / By

LEESBURG, Fla.—A Tavares motorcyclist was killed Saturday afternoon after a car pulled out of a Leesburg gas station and collided with him on U.S. Highway 441, according to Leesburg Police Department Capt. Joe Iozzi.

William Clough, 65, was riding a 2015 Harley-Davidson southbound on U.S. Highway 441 near Tomato Hill Road when Bettyrose Knittle, 88, of Fruitland Park, pulled out of RaceTrac and struck Clough around 5 p.m., Iozzi said.

Clough was seriously injured and transported by ground to UF Health Leesburg Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. Traffic was diverted around crash for approximately three hours, according to Iozzi.

LPD traffic homicide investigators are investigating the crash and are asking witnesses to contact them at 352-787-2121.

LPD also worked a crash earlier in the day that involved two motorcycles that crashed into each other while trying to avoid a vehicle on U.S. Highway 27 near the Hawthorne at Leesburg neighborhood.  Both riders were transported by air to local hospitals. The crash closed both the northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 27 for approximately 45 minutes, Iozzi said.

Tavares motorcyclist killed in Leesburg crash Saturday Read More »

GRAPHIC: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake

Multiple law enforcement agencies search for missing Mount Dora mom Saturday

Eustis, Inside Scoop, Mount Dora, Unincorporated Lake / By

EUSTIS, Fla.—Only Inside Lake was on the scene as a large search was conducted Saturday by multiple law enforcement agencies for Mount Dora missing mom Nicole Baldwin.

Law enforcement officers and volunteers searched areas near the east side of Eustis for Baldwin, who has been missing since early November 2023. Inside Lake witnessed searchers on foot, along with additional searchers on ATVs and horses. The search spanned several hours and ended early in the afternoon Saturday.

PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake

The search was planned for at least several weeks and a search of that magnitude involves a lot of preparation to coordinate with multiple agencies and units, MDPD Spokesperson Misty Sommer told Inside Lake.

“At this point in the investigation, Mount Dora Police Department is looking into all possible scenarios related to the search of Nicole Baldwin. This included a search, with our partner agencies, of nearby vacant lands that are in close proximity to her last known residence,” Sommer said.

Baldwin was last seen Nov. 2, 2023, at her Strathmore Circle home in Mount Dora and reported missing on Nov. 5, 2023. She was originally classified as “missing and endangered,” but a search warrant later stated police were looking for evidence in a second-degree murder investigation.

PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake

This is the latest in a case that has seen many twists and turns; Baldwin’s husband, Brett, was arrested Dec.14, 2023 on federal child pornography charges and has been held on no bond in the Marion County Jail since his arrest. In January, investigators with MDPD and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement executed an electronics search warrant at the home of Terri Rogers, a volunteer and missing persons advocate who led several public searches for Baldwin. Rogers, who spoke exclusively with Inside Lake following the search, said investigators seized her phone, home security cameras, laptops and Amazon Alexa devices, among other electronics. Rogers has never been charged with a crime in this case.

Baldwin, 41, is described as a white female, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 135 pounds with brown and dyed blonde hair, and hazel eyes. If you have information on Baldwin’s disappearance, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Crimeline callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

Previous stories: Missing Person Advocate Says Law Enforcement Turned on Her in Missing Mount Dora Mom Case – Inside Lake

Feds: More than 2 Dozen Child Porn Images and Videos Found on Phone Seized in Missing Mount Dora Mom Case; Husband Planned to Move to North Carolina – Inside Lake

Husband of Missing Mount Dora Mom Being Held on Federal Charges – Inside Lake

Husband of Missing Mount Dora Woman Taken into Custody Thursday Morning – Inside Lake

Reward Offered for Information Leading to the Whereabouts of Missing Mount Dora Mother – Inside Lake

Community Search and Vigil Planned for Mount Dora Mom Missing a Month – Inside Lake

Major Law Enforcement Activity at Mount Dora Home of Missing Mom – Inside Lake

3 Weeks and Still No Sign of Missing Mount Dora Mom – Inside Lake

Mount Dora Woman Missing a Week, Daughter Wants Answers – Inside Lake

Multiple law enforcement agencies search for missing Mount Dora mom Saturday Read More »

Teen arrested for killing family cat in dryer Monday

Inside Scoop, Minneola / By

MINNEOLA, Fla.—A teenager is facing a charge of animal cruelty—excessively cruel, after putting the family cat in the dryer and killing it, according to an arrest affidavit.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Monday, Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a home on Plum Lake Drive in Minneola on a report of a suspicious incident. When they arrived, the mother of Cayden Mikkel Williams told a deputy her son had just killed the family cat, named “Mouse” by putting it in the dryer.

She said when she was coming into the neighborhood with her other children, she saw Williams walking and he motioned for her to stop. She rolled the window down and Williams reportedly said, “So Mouse…” She replied, “what?” and Williams responded, “so he was in the dryer,” the affidavit states.

She returned home and found Mouse the cat lying on top of the dryer wrapped in a piece of fabric, dead. Mouse had blood coming from its nose and its ears were burnt and Williams’ clothes were on the floor in front of the dryer. She told the deputy the dryer has a 70-minute timer and there were approximately 30 minutes left on the timer, indicating Mouse was in the dryer for possibly 40 minutes, according to the affidavit, and after a brief argument Williams left.

The deputy observed dried blood all over the inside of dryer, he noted in the affidavit.

Williams’ mother told the deputy they buried Mouse by his favorite bush in the yard and the deputy called LCSO Animal Control and they exhumed Mouse’s remains for evidence, according to the affidavit. Williams, who will turn 17 on Friday, came back home and told the deputy he knew why deputies were speaking to him and he said he put his clothes in the dryer and did not see Mouse or hear him making any sounds or a banging noise after he started the dryer.

Williams also told the deputy he did not want his mother or siblings to be loud after they found out Mouse was dead because he did not want law enforcement to be notified, the affidavit states.

Williams was arrested, transported to the Lake County Jail and turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

 

 

Teen arrested for killing family cat in dryer Monday Read More »

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