TAVARES, Fla.—Lake County Sheriff’s Office Master Deputy Bradley Link is scheduled to be honored Wednesday night by a young man who will run his 1,550th mile in support of fallen first responders.
Zechariah Cartledge founded Running 4 Heroes Inc., a non-profit organization in 2019, to raise funds for fallen first responders. Cartledge is scheduled to run the mile at 8 p.m. Wednesday, at Tavares Middle School, 13032 Lane Park Cutoff Road, Tavares. Attendees are asked to arrive between 7 and 7:30 p.m.
SUMTER COUNTY, Fla.—A pedestrian attempting to cross a road was killed Wednesday morning when she was struck by a vehicle, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The 77-year-old woman, of The Villages, was attempting to cross Old Mill Run near Buena Vista Boulevard when she was struck by a Toyota Corolla being driven eastbound by a 23-year-old Leesburg woman shortly before 7:15 a.m., FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said.
The pedestrian was transported to a local hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.
LEESBURG, Fla.—Hundreds of residents, law enforcement officers and firefighters lined U.S. Highway 27 to pay their respects and show their support for Master Deputy Bradley Link and his coworkers at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Monday morning.
Residents stood in the rain along the 15-mile trek from Leesburg to Minneola, waving flags and saluting Link as he was transported to the funeral home handling his arrangements, bringing tears to the eyes of deputies and residents alike.
TAVARES, Fla.—Lake County Public Safety Communications (911) is experiencing intermittent outages due to Hurricane Debby. Residents may not be able to reach dispatchers in an emergency. If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, call the non-emergency number at 352-343-2101.
LEESBURG, Fla.—Lake County Sheriff’s Office fallen deputy Bradley Link will be transported to the funeral home handling his arrangements Monday morning.
Link will be escorted by his unit, LCSO Agriculture and Marine, from the Medical Examiner’s Office in Leesburg at 10 a.m. Monday.
The public may show their support for Link and LCSO by standing anywhere along U.S. Highway 27, south of Dixie Avenue in Leesburg to the city limits of Minneola.
LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department has released the name of the man found dead near Ski Beach Monday night.
Lucious W. Austin, 67, was spotted in Lake Harris near Ski Beach Bar and Grill around 7:15 p.m. and LPD, along with Leesburg Fire Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Underwater Search and Recovery Team responded to the scene and recovered Austin, LPD Sgt. Shannon Walsh said.
Austin was turned over to the medical examiner (ME) and the preliminary investigation does not indicate foul play, Walsh said. LPD is still awaiting the ME’s final report and said Tuesday the department was investigating the incident as a possible drowning.
If you have information, call LPD at 352-787-2121 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS; Crimeline callers may be eligible for a reward.
LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department is investigating after a man’s body was found floating in Lake Harris near Ski Beach Monday night.
The man’s body was spotted near Ski Beach Bar and Grill around 7:15 p.m. and Leesburg Fire Department (LFD) responded with its boat, along with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Underwater Search and Recovery Team. The man’s body was recovered, and he was turned over to the medical examiner’s office to determine cause of death, but police believe it may have been a drowning, LPD Sgt. Shannon Walsh said.
Police have identified the man, described as a 67-year-old black male, but have not released his identity pending notification of next of kin, Walsh said.
If you have information, call LPD at 352-787-2121 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS; Crimeline callers may be eligible for a reward.
LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department has located a vehicle believed to be involved in the murder of a 20-year-old man Monday.
James Jordan was found lying in the yard of a home in the 2200 block of Aitken Loop in Overlook at Lake Griffin around 2:30 p.m. Monday suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to UF Health Leesburg, where he died from his injuries, LPD Sgt. Shannon Walsh said.
LPD located and seized the vehicle believed to be involved, and executed search warrants on the vehicle and the location it was recovered from, Walsh said. LPD has not released the location, or the make and model of the vehicle.
“Several items of evidentiary value were recovered,” Walsh said in an email. “Detectives continue to work on this case actively.”
If you have information on Jordan’s death, call LPD at 352-787-2121 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS; Crimeline callers may be eligible for a reward.
LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department is investigating after a 20-year-old man was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds Monday afternoon.
LPD responded to Aitkin Loop in Overlook at Lake Griffin around 2:30 p.m. Monday in reference to a shooting and found James Jordan in the front yard of a home in the 2200 block, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, LPD Sgt. Shannon Walsh said.
Officers rendered aid to Jordan until EMS and Leesburg Fire Department arrived and Jordan was transported to UF Health Leesburg, where he succumbed to his injuries.
LPD set up a perimeter and utilized a K9 unit and LPD detectives and CSI responded to the scene, Walsh said.
If you have information on Jordan’s death, call LPD at 352-787-2121 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS; Crimeline callers may be eligible for a reward.
This is LPD’s second homicide in just over a month. On May 30, Raied “Ray” Shihadeh, 51, was shot and killed at Fast Stop Superette, 3702 Picciola Road, on May 30 during an armed robbery of the store. Alex Lopez was arrested for the crime late last month and is being held on no bond at the Lake County Jail.
TAVARES, Fla.—The man police believe is responsible for the murder of a Leesburg store owner was booked into the Lake County Jail Friday morning.
Alex Lopez, 25, is facing charges of premeditated murder, armed robbery and two other weapons offenses, and is being held on no bond.
Lopez was on the run for nearly a month, while Leesburg Police Department worked with state, federal and local agencies to track him down and finally located him at a motel in Kissimmee around 7 p.m. Wednesday, Leesburg Police Department Sgt. Shannon Walsh said. He was taken into custody by the FDLE/Orlando – Violent Crime Task Force.
“We located him using collaborative investigative measures,” Walsh told Inside Lake.
Lopez is accused of gunning down father of five, Raied “Ray” Shihadeh, 51, at Fast Stop Superette, 3702 Picciola Road, on May 30 during an armed robbery of the store. LPD will not confirm how much money was taken in the robbery, but a post created by Shihadeh’s wife, Monique, on a fundraising platform states it was less than $100. In the same post, Monique also stated her husband was killed on their daughter’s 16th birthday, making an already tragic situation much more heartbreaking.
Raied “Ray” Shihadeh. Photo courtesy of Monique Shihadeh
Inside Lake spoke with Monique by text Thursday and she said, “Our family is happy about his capture. We are preparing for this continuous and long journey that we will be on but praying for strength.”
Monique posted about her husband in numerous Facebook groups throughout the last few weeks asking for help locating Lopez and informing the public of a reward offered by Crimeline, in addition to money raised and added to the reward by her family.
Lopez grew up in Eustis and Sorrento, several sources have told Inside Lake. His next court date is scheduled for July 22.
