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.
CLERMONT—A motorcyclist was killed Wednesday after an SUV turned in front of him, troopers say.
Just after 2:45 p.m., a 51-year-old Clermont woman was traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 27 near Clermont in a 2015 Cadillac SRX. She attempted to make a left turn on Green Cove Boulevard and turned into the direct path of a 2014 Triumph motorcycle traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 27, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tara Crescenzi said. The motorcycle, being ridden by a 51-year-old Clermont man, struck the SUV.
The motorcyclist was transported to South Lake Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased, Crescenzi said. The driver of the SUV suffered minor injuries and was not transported. The crash backed traffic up for miles and remains under investigation.
UMATILLA—For the second time in less than a week, the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that resulted in serious injuries near Umatilla.
There was little information available Wednesday morning, including how the crash occurred. A 55-year-old Sorrento woman was driving a white 2016 Chevrolet Cruze shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday when she crashed for an unknown reason, striking a stop sign, street signs and a concrete pillar at State Road19 and Beach Street in front of Silver Beach Heights.
The woman was airlifted to HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford, formerly Central Florida Regional Medical Center, in critical condition as a trauma alert, but is now in stable condition, FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi told Inside Lake.
A concrete pillar is seen here after being hit by a Chevy Cruze Tuesday night near Umatilla. The driver, a 55-year-old Sorrento woman, is in stable condition. Courtesy photo
On Friday night, a 37-year-old Leesburg man was traveling southbound in the northbound inside lane on State Road 19, near Orange Avenue just north of the Eustis city limits in a Nissan Versa.
The Nissan struck a Ford Taurus traveling southbound and attempting to turn left on Orange Avenue. Both drivers were transported to local hospitals.
LEESBURG, Florida—A argument outside a Leesburg gas station Thursday afternoon escalated to a stabbing and landed one man in jail and another in the hospital, according to an arrest affidavit.
Leesburg Police Department responded to a stabbing report at Sunoco, 1200 West Main Street and found the victim responsive, but in a lot of pain and “clearly in need of medical attention,” the affidavit states. He was transported to a local hospital and then airlifted to a trauma center for the stab wound on the top, left side of his rib cage. He was not publicly identified.
A witness told LPD the victim was cursing at “Baxter,” later identified as Baxter Marc Rishell, 61. The pair began to argue, the witness said, and Rishell pulled out a black and green pocketknife and “poked” the victim in the side of his body. The witness said Rishell, of Leesburg, then threw the knife into the grass near the side of the building; LPD located the knife with “fresh blood” on the blade.
Baxter Mar Rishell PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
A second witness refused to give police a statement and Rishell, who appeared to be heavily intoxicated, told police he was near the incident when it happened and he was “unsure if the suspect was Hispanic or white,” the affidavit states.
Rishell was taken into custody and arrested for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He is being held in Lake County Jail on $10,000 bond.
DONA VISTA, Florida—The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate a serious crash that occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Friday night.
A Nissan Versa being driven by a 37-year-old Leesburg man was traveling southbound on State Road 19 in the northbound inside lane, FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi told Inside Lake.
As he approached Orange Avenue, a 36-year-old Umatilla man driving a Ford Taurus southbound on State Road 19 attempted to make a left turn on Orange Avenue and the front of the Nissan struck the left side of the Ford at 9:50 p.m., Crescenzi said.
The Umatilla man was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical but stable condition and the Leesburg man was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares with serious injuries and admitted. Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts.
“The investigating trooper advised he submitted (the Nissan driver) for a medical reexamination,” Crescenzi said in an email to Inside Lake. The crash remains under investigation.
TAVARES, Florida—An allegation of poor living conditions to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) led to the arrest of a Tavares woman last week, according to an arrest affidavit.
Tavares Police responded to a home on Hunterwood Lane in reference to a DCF call alleging poor living conditions, including animal feces and a roach infestation on Jan. 14. As the arresting officer approached the home, she could “smell the strong odor of rotten meat and cat urine emitting through the closed garage door,” the arresting officer noted in the affidavit.
Melody Anne Sargent, 45, met DCF and TPD at the home and “immediately became hysterical” when she found out the reason for the visit. Sargent told them she was “trying to fix the issue” and was currently in the process of moving out because she could not control the cockroach infestation. She said she had a temporary place to stay while she moves her belongings into a storage unit, and she had been moving things for the past week, but later admitted that was a lie. She also said a juvenile in the home had been staying somewhere else, but later admitted that was a lie too.
She warned the officer and the investigator of the infestation inside the home and said her 1-year-old Husky had diarrhea and had been defecating throughout the home, along with three cats that have a litter box, but one was urinating and defecating throughout the home as well. She also said there was rotten meat inside an unplugged freezer in the garage that had been there about a month, the affidavit states.
Melody Sargent PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
The following was taken directly from Sargent’s arrest affidavit.
“As we entered the residence, the house appeared in disarray as items were throughout the living room area. The items were covered in cockroaches as well as the doors and walls as they were crawling throughout the home. The strong odor of rotten meat and cat urine was strong enough that l had to remove myself from the home multiple times/ (TPD) Officer walked through the residence with DCF observing multiple piles of feces throughout the floor. The feces and cat urine had been piled throughout the home as it was dry and had cockroaches on top. This continues through the dining room area and into the kitchen. The kitchen appeared to be unusable as there were items stacked all over the counter with a large number of cockroaches crawling in/on everything. We located what appeared to be two dog food containers which had cockroaches and maggots crawling in and around them, The food bowls were also covered in dry urine along with the majority of the floor, per (TPD) Officer. (TPD) Officer also located the above-mentioned Husky in a cage in the back room. The dog appeared to be underweight per (TPD) officer and was locked inside a cage with dried urine and feces in/around it. The dog had no direct access to any food or water as everything was covered in cockroaches or urine. “
DCF spoke with all the occupants in the home and one of them said the roach infestation began about a year ago and they attempted to control it with bug spray, but it got worse over time. Another occupant said they commonly stepped in dog feces and urine while trying to walk through the home.
Sargent admitted knowing the conditions were not suitable for any person or animal to live in and she was arrested for child neglect and animal cruelty. She was taken to the Lake County Jail, where she was released on $3,000 bond.
The child/children were placed in someone else’s care and the animals were turned over to Lake County Animal Services.
MOUNT DORA, Florida—It has been nearly six months since Emily Lowe got the call that changed her life.
In the early morning hours of July 23, 2022, Lowe’s father, beloved local musician Robert Wilson was attempting to push his minivan off a curb on Old U.S. Highway 441 across from Dairy Queen in Mount Dora when good Samaritan Michael Dickey saw him and stopped to help.
“I thought, man, somebody is going to hit him,” Dickey told Inside Lake earlier this week, “and I’ll be damned if what I thought happened.”
Wilson’s tire was stuck on the curb and could not get any traction. After unsuccessfully trying to push the van off the curb, Dickey suggested they use his truck, a Nissan Frontier, to pull the minivan off the curb. Dickey, who was headed home after working late at his furniture refinishing shop in Tavares, had a flashlight in his hand and was starting to attach a strap to Wilson’s minivan when the white 2015 Hyundai Genesis Justin Thomas Flower was driving came speeding down Old U.S. Highway 441.
The Hyundai came straight at them, Dickey jumped out the way and the car struck Wilson first throwing him several feet, then struck the back end of Wilson’s minivan and finally Dickey’s truck, hitting it with such force, it spun around. All three vehicles were totaled.
“My truck did a 180 spin, turned the opposite way it was parked,” Dickey said. Dickey injured his finger and held the flashlight through the entire ordeal, including questioning by Mount Dora Police Department. The crash sheared the bulb and bulb cover right off the handle.
“It knocked it clean off. I came close to dying, real close to dying,” Dickey said, shaking his head, “He never hit his brakes, never hit his brakes.”
Dickey still has the flashlight and held it during his interview with Inside Lake.
Michael Dickey reenacts the morning of July 23, 2022 when he jumped out the way when Justin Flower hit Robert Wilson, killing him. Flower also hit Wilson’s minivan and Dickey’s truck. Dickey is seen here holding the same flashlight he held during the crash. PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake
Flower kept driving and got about a half of a mile down the road, “I don’t know how he made it that far,” Dickey said.
“I started screaming at him, stop! Stop! Stop!”
An unidentified man in a Honda Civic stopped and Dickey told him to get behind Flower so he could not leave, and he did, Dickey said. A minute or so later, someone handed Dickey a phone and said, “It’s 9-1-1,” and the man in the Honda drove by and said, “We’re good” and left. “I found out later he never even called 9-1-1,” Dickey said.
Flower got out of the car and, “He was pacing around and around.” Two unidentified women stopped to help him, and he reportedly told them he was fine, and “There’s a bad accident down there you need to go the other way.” The women continued toward the crash site, Dickey said, and “suddenly he (Flower) was gone,” but he left the disabled Hyundai in the middle of the road.
The women stopped and helped Wilson and Dickey, and one woman removed her shirt, clad only in a bra, and wrapped it around Wilson’s head in attempt to help him and stop the bleeding, Dickey told Inside Lake.
Once MDPD arrived on scene Dickey said he felt like they treated him like a criminal. “I thought I was going to jail. They wouldn’t let me call my wife. I was furious.” He said he was interviewed by at least six MDPD officers. “My mouth was dry, I was exhausted. They wouldn’t even let me have a drink. “
Dickey was never interviewed again after the morning of the crash. “I called him (the crash investigator) three or four times and he never returned my call. Never would return an email.” Dickey said he called him two more times in the last few weeks and the investigator did not return those calls either.
Dickey still has a hard time understanding the crash, “How do you not react and hit the brakes?” Data from the vehicle later showed Flower was driving 42.87 miles per hour and never hit the brakes. The posted speed limit in that area is 35 miles per hour.
Wilson, 50, was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center after the crash, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy later determined Wilson died from a skull fracture and brain bleed caused by the crash.
Top left to right: Robert Wilson’s minivan, Michael Dickey’s truck and the car Justin Flower was driving when he crashed into Wilson and the two vehicles in July 2022. PHOTOS: Michael Dickey
According to a probable cause affidavit, MDPD contacted the registered owner of the Hyundai and she said she lent the car to Flower and Flower was at a home on Morningside Drive, less than a mile from the crash site. MDPD spoke with Flower, and he said he struck a dog that jumped into the roadway. He claimed to have no memory of the crash and woke up the following morning at the home on Morningside Drive wondering how he got there.
Dickey said he does not understand why Flower was not arrested right then, “How do you believe that lie?” he said.
During later questioning Flower admitted to drinking “a beer and a shot” prior to the crash, the affidavit states.
It took nearly three months for MDPD is issue a warrant for Flower for manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash involving death. After the warrant was issued, he ran to Jackson County, North Carolina, Wilson’s daughter Emily Lowe told Inside Lake.
He was apprehended in North Carolina in late November extradited to Lake County Dec. 30, just one day before his 39th birthday after he spent more than a month in jail in North Carolina, according to Lake County Clerk of Court online records. He is being held in LCJ on no bond.
Justin Flower’s two mugshots. PHOTOS: Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (North Carolina) and Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Flower is scheduled to be arraigned Monday—exactly six months after the crash.
The pain is still raw for Lowe. She misses her dad tremendously and is angry he was taken from her.
“I can forgive but I can never forget,” she told Inside Lake.
Photo courtesy of Emily Lowe
Wilson was a well-known local musician, a friend, a son, Lowe said, but most importantly he was Dad to her and her three brothers and Pop Pop to his two grandsons and only granddaughter.
“He was more than his music, more than a friend, He was a father and a grandfather. That’s who he was,” Lowe, 27, said. “My Dad was my absolute best friend, she said. “My rock, my safety net.”
Lowe rushed to ORMC when she found out what happened, and doctors told her he was brain dead and there was no chance at life. Lowe told Inside Lake she fell to the floor and begged him to wake up. But he never did. “This man (Flower) took my life from me in a way,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Emily Lowe
Lowe said her dad and Flower knew each other and she has received information they were both at Fat Cats, a nearby bar, the night of the crash. Flower was never tested for alcohol consumption by MDPD but did admit to drinking the night of the crash—doctors at ORMC told Lowe her father was not legally drunk, she said.
“He plowed my Dad,” Lowe said. “Justin Flower hit my Dad. He was brain dead on the scene.
Lowe said her dad was very musically gifted and a “great friend to all who knew him.” He was never a stranger to anyone and enjoyed a close with relationship with his granddaughter, 7. She misses him very much, Lowe said. Sometimes it is hard for Lowe to grieve her father, because she has to stay strong for her daughter and her grandmother.
“My grandma is not OK because she lost her son.”
Lowe said the whole ordeal has been terrible, but the added length of the investigation, lack of communication and Flower running has made things worse.
“It’s been a nightmare to deal with. I just want justice for my Dad.”
ASTATULA, Florida—A head-on crash killed an Ocoee man Friday afternoon and sent a 7-year-old Eustis girl and a 36-year-old Eustis man to the hospital, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The 50-year-old Ocoee man was driving a grey Toyota Tacoma southbound on County Road 561, near Georgia Avenue in Astatula, when he traveled into the northbound lane and struck a white Dodge Ram being driven by a 36-year-old Eustis man around 4:15 p.m., FHP Lt. Channing Taylor said in a press release.
The Ocoee man was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased, Taylor said. The Eustis man and the young girl were transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares and are in stable condition.
TAVARES, Florida—A Leesburg teenager was arrested Friday by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies for his role in the death of a Sumter County boy who was found dead in Bushnell in December.
Jontae Solomon Haywood was reported missing around 1:20 a.m. Dec. 16, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO.) Deputies received information he may have been shot and he was found dead near County Road 557 in Bushnell later the same day. Haywood, an eighth grade student at South Sumter Prep, was just 15 years old.
Haywood enjoyed football, basketball, and fishing; and dreamed of becoming a professional rapper one day, according to his obituary. He enjoyed spending time with his father, was a “very polite and kind young man,” and showed “extreme compassion” to the elderly.
During its investigation, SCSO, found that Trevon Donte Battle, 16, of Leesburg and Tervaris Eugene Jackson Jr., 15, of Bushnell were negligently handling a firearm and it discharged, striking Haywood and killing him. Bradford Nethercot, 70, was “present during the incident and did not make any attempt to intervene to prevent the death of Jontae Haywood,” SCSO said in a press release.
Battle was arrested Friday by LCSO on the Sumter County warrant for aggravated manslaughter, improper disposal of human remains, possession of a firearm by a person under 18 and failure to report a death. He was booked into the Lake County Jail.
Jackson and Nethercot were both arrested by SCSO and booked into the Sumter County Jail. Jackson is facing the same charges as Battle— aggravated manslaughter, improper disposal of human remains, possession of a firearm by a person under 18 and failure to report a death. Nethercot is facing several charges, including child neglect with great bodily harm, three counts contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of marijuana under 20 grams and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.
CLERMONT, Florida—The suspect shot by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies Friday has died.
Deputies went to 9201 Pine Island Road in unincorporated Clermont to perform a well-being check on Donald Charles Brady, 69, Friday morning according to LCSO Sgt. Jim Vachon. Brady, the owner of the home, was armed with a rifle and handgun and confronted deputies who took cover and attempted to communicate with him.
“As events unfolded, an officer-involved shooting occurred,” Vachon said Friday afternoon. Brady was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. No other details have been released.
Brady was charged with driving on a suspended license in 2019, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to probation, according to Lake County Clerk of Court online records.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is investigating the shooting, standard practice in an officer-involved shooting.
CLERMONT, Florida—The barricaded man the Lake County Sheriff’s Office was attempting to negotiate with has been shot, according to LCSO Sgt. Jim Vachon.
“As events unfolded, an officer-involved shooting occurred,” Vachon said. “The suspect has been transported to the hospital for treatment, no law enforcement officials were injured.”
Deputies were on a well-being check at 9201 Pine Island Road when they were confronted by the man, who was armed with a rifle and handgun, Vachon said. Deputies took cover and attempted to communicate with the man, but he retreated into the home and refused to speak with deputies Friday morning.
The man’s name has not been released.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is on the scene investigating, standard practice in an officer-involved shooting.
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