Eustis

EUSTIS, Florida—A Eustis man is in the Lake County Jail accused of masturbating while watching a young girl as her mother did laundry late Friday night, according to an arrest affidavit. Just before midnight Saturday morning, a woman called Eustis Police Department and reported a man was masturbating while looking at her daughter at Spin City, 320 Ardice Avenue, Eustis. The girl’s father told police he was sitting in his vehicle while his wife and daughter – who is only 8 years old – were inside doing laundry. He said his daughter was playing near the vending machines when he

EUSTIS, Florida—Patients and visitors to a local healthcare facility got a quite a scare Wednesday morning when a car drove into the building, according to Eustis Police Department. Only Inside Lake was on scene just after a 79-year-old Tavares woman told police she was “trying to park and the car lunged forward,” at AdventHealth Well 65+, 2906 David Walker Drive, Eustis around 9 a.m. She was not injured. The Suzuki sedan entered the building in a conference room where a man was on a Zoom call and he saw the car coming at him in the camera, EPD said. He

EUSTIS, Florida—The toddler struck Thursday afternoon in the driveway of a home in Eustis has passed away, Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri said Friday morning. The boy was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando around 2:45 p.m. Thursday after he was struck by a full-size truck being driven by a family member, EPD Capt. Jon Fahning told Inside Lake. The boy, who is not being publicly identified, darted in front of the truck when the family member was moving the truck to the back of the property on Bates Avenue near Eustis Middle School. The driver believed the child

Update: 10:45 a.m. Friday. The boy has passed away, according to EPD Chief Craig Capri. See below for our updated story. EUSTIS, Florida—A toddler was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando after he was struck by a vehicle being driven by a family member, according to Eustis Police Department. The boy, who is not being publicly identified at this time, darted in front of a full-size truck being driven by a member of his family around 2:30 p.m. in the driveway of the home on Bates Avenue, Capt. Jon Fahning told Inside Lake. A Eustis Police officer was in

EUSTIS, Florida—The white powder sent to Eustis High School Monday that caused the school to be placed on lockdown was cornstarch, Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri said. A package was opened shortly before noon Monday and contained an unknown white powder later determined to be cornstarch, Capri said. EHS was placed on lockdown out of abundance of caution, and students and faculty were not in danger, Capri said. “We are following protocol to ensure the safety and students and faculty,” Capri told Inside Lake Monday afternoon.   Eustis Fire Department and Lake EMS also responded to the scene.

EUSTIS, Florida—Eustis Police Department is investigating a suspicious package sent to Eustis High School, Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri told Inside Lake. “Everything is under control concerning the safety of the students,” Capri said. The package was opened shortly before noon Monday and contained an unknown white powder that will be sent to a lab for testing, Capri said. EHS was placed on lockdown, and students and faculty are not in danger, Capri said. “We are following protocol to ensure the safety and students and faculty,” Capri said.   Eustis Fire Department and Lake EMS were also on scene and

EUSTIS, Florida—A former corrections officer is facing charges of aggravated assault and impersonating a law enforcement officer after allegedly threatening to “blow an armored guard’s head off” at a medical marijuana facility Friday afternoon. Eustis Police Department responded to Liberty Health Science Medical Marijuana Dispensary, 15443 U.S. Highway 441 after Michael Craig Shapiro, a former corrections officer for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, reported that an armed subject had entered the dispensary and was possibly a security guard.   EPD arrived and found Shapiro, 39, of Mount Dora, in a silver vehicle blocking a white van; officers spoke to the

EUSTIS, Florida—A man accused of firing several shots not far from Eustis Police Department and pointing a shotgun at an officer Tuesday night is being held at the Lake County Jail on $8,000 bond. EPD officers responded to the 1300 block of South Grove Street shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday after several complaints of shots being fired in the area, according to EPD. An officer spotted Carl Eric Herzberger, 41, carrying a shotgun as he walked down East Atwater Avenue; the officer got out of his patrol vehicle and ordered Herzberger to drop the gun. Herzberger is alleged to have

EUSTIS, Florida-Eustis Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred Thursday afternoon. The shooting was in the parking lot of Lee’s Food Market, 1333 East Orange Avenue according to EPD Chief Craig Capri. The shooting occurred as many residents were awaiting the restoration of services following Hurricane Ian. A male was shot, Capri said. It is an active investigation and no other information has been released. Witnesses on scene, who did not want to be identified, told Inside Lake the altercation started as a fight, a male was pistol whipped and the gun fired, striking him. This has not been

EUSTIS, Florida—The teenager wanted for shooting two people last week near a Eustis private school has been arrested. Jaques J. Jenkins, 19, was wanted for shooting two people at the corner of Old Mount Dora Road and Grove Street shortly before 4 p.m. Sept. 7. The shots were fired at the stop sign near Faith Lutheran Church, which houses a private school and daycare. The school day had just ended less than 30 minutes before the shooting and the daycare was still open, according to a report. Jenkins, who was driving a black Hyundai Elantra, fled east down Old Mount

EUSTIS, Florida—A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a man suspected in a Eustis drive-by shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to Eustis Police Capt. Dave Carney Jaques J. Jenkins, 19, is suspected of shooting at a male and female at the corner of Old Mount Dora Road and Grove Street shortly before 4 p.m.  Wednesday. Multiple shots were fired at the stop sign near Faith Lutheran Church, which houses a private school and daycare. The school day had just ended less than 30 minutes before the shooting and the daycare was still open, according to the report. Jenkins, who

EUSTIS, Florida—Eustis Police Department is investigating a drive-by shooting that occurred Wednesday afternoon. Two people were shot, a male and a female near the intersection of Old Mount Dora Road and Grove Street, EPD Capt. Jon Fahning told Inside Lake on the scene. The victims’ names and ages were not released, but one of them is a juvenile, Fahning said. The victims left the scene of the shooting and the maroon Ford Escape they were in was left at Lake Hills Plaza, near the entrance of RaceTrac, 2850 South Bay Street with noticeable bullet holes. As they drove into the

EUSTIS, Florida—Eustis Police Department is investigating an apparent suicide after a man’s body was found at a park Sunday night. Officers responded to Marsh Park off County Road 452 around 7:30 p.m. and the found the man dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Chief Craig Capri told Inside Lake. “There is no danger to the community,” Capri said. The man has been identified, but next of kin has not been notified. He is from out of the area, Capri said.

EUSTIS, Florida— Two Orange County teenagers wanted in connection with armed burglaries and a stolen SUV that was used in an Orange County drive-by shooting were taken into custody Thursday after the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Gang Unit tracked them to Eustis Thursday. The OCSO Gang Unit responded to a drive-by shooting in the early morning hours Thursday and a witness identified the vehicle involved in the shooting as a white Ford Explorer, according to an arrest affidavit. Detectives with the OCSO Gang Unit discovered OCSO patrol units responded to a complaint the day before in reference to a stolen

EUSTIS, Florida—An accused vehicle burglar is behind bars after he was caught on video entering one vehicle and attempting to enter a second one, according to an arrest affidavit. Eustis Police responded to Blue Lake Estates off State Road 44 after a victim reported a possible vehicle burglary shortly before 4 a.m. Wednesday. The victim allowed police to view video surveillance from his home that showed a man entering a vehicle and attempting to enter a second one, according to the affidavit. About an hour later, EPD found Damon Cornelius Evans, 33, of Eustis, walking about a mile away from

EUSTIS, Florida—A man was arrested Saturday after walking into Eustis Police Department and emptying his pockets of the methamphetamine he was carrying, according to an arrest affidavit. Eustis Police officers responded to EPD, 51 East Norton Avenue, shortly before 11:30 a.m. on a report of a suspicious person. When the first officer arrived, he found Anthony Maurice Bales, 25, of Eustis, in the lobby. On the bench next to where Bales was standing, the officer observed two small bags of a substance, later identified as methamphetamine, a pack of Swisher Sweets cigarillos and a blue pen, according to the affidavit.

EUSTIS, Florida— The man who went missing on Lake Yale Saturday afternoon still has not been found. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) began searching for the man at daybreak Sunday, FWC Public Information Officer Chad Weber told Inside Lake Sunday afternoon. The afternoon storms hampered their efforts, but several boats were still on the water searching around 4:30 p.m., Weber said. “We’re still continuing search and rescue efforts,” he said. Officers will continue to stay on the water unless the weather gets too bad, or lightning becomes an issue. FWC

EUSTIS, Florida—The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) are searching for a boater who went missing on Lake Yale Saturday afternoon. Officers and deputies are searching for an adult male and it is unknown if he was wearing a life vest. Numerous boats from FWC and LCSO, along with Lake EMS have been staged at Marsh Park off County Road 452 for several hours. LCSO received the call about the missing boater from an individual who was on the same boat and LCSO notified FWC around 3:15 p.m., FWC Public Information Officer

EUSTIS, Florida—A man who has been on the run for over a month for a shooting in an apparent feud over a woman in early May was picked up earlier this week on multiple charges stemming from the shooting. On May 7, Eustis Police Department responded to El Sereno Apartments, 600 North Grove Street on a report of a shooting. The victim told police he was walking to his apartment when he felt like someone was behind him; he turned around and saw a man he recognized as Cameron Deon Blair, 19, pointing a gun at him. Blair fired three

EUSTIS, Florida—A police support coordinator accused of defrauding Eustis Police Department of $6,665 worth of gift cards, abruptly resigned and she is facing a criminal charge, according to an internal investigation obtained only by Inside Lake. Pam Gordon, who has worked at EPD for 19 years, is alleged to have altered invoices submitted to the City of Eustis finance department to hide complimentary gift cards from a marketing company, the report states. In early May, an EPD sergeant opened a package containing promotional materials for EPD and found an envelope containing nine $25 Amazon gift cards. The sergeant thought it

EUSTIS, Florida—A fire inspector for Eustis Fire Department has been arrested for domestic violence, according to an arrest affidavit. The affidavit states, on Tuesday, a member of Eustis Police Department’s command staff accessed a former employee’s computer and observed messages between the former employee and her husband, Adam John Gordon, 50, on June 5. In the messages, Gordon tells the victim he is leaving her, and she accuses him of hitting her at least 10 times and in turn, he accuses her of biting him and pushing him. The messages also included several photos of the victim that included swelling,

EUSTIS, Florida—A 62-year-old woman suspected of DUI caused a three-vehicle crash, fled the scene and was captured by Eustis Police after a witness followed her May 31, according to an arrest affidavit. Elfriede Schafer Stewart is accused driving a dark-colored Porsche and rear-ending a white GMC that caused another collision with a gold Chevy shortly before 1:15 p.m. near County Road 19A and U.S. Highway 441 last Tuesday, according to the affidavit. Stewart, of Eustis, fled the scene with the Porsche’s hood up obstructing her view, and a witness followed her to Eustis Plaza, less than a mile away. The

EUSTIS, Florida—A man with 11 felony convictions and a prior arrest for grand theft auto stole a running car out of the parking lot of a local restaurant May 27, according to Eustis Police Department. Robert Eugene Marks Sr., 47, who is listed as homeless, went into Double Take Pizza, 403 North Grove Street, shortly before 9:30 p.m. demanding free food and claiming he had $847 million in the bank while he moved the restaurant’s tip jar closer to him, according to an arrest affidavit. An employee took the tip jar and told Marks to leave. Witnesses told police Marks