MINNEOLA, Fla.—The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that killed a 17-year-old bicyclist near Lake Minneola High School Monday morning.
“The crash occurred as the bus was turning left into the school from traveling southbound on Hancock Road,” Trooper Migdalisis Garcia told Inside Lake in an email.
The crash occurred at 6:50 a.m. near Hancock Road and Fox Trail Avenue and troopers are still investigating the sequence of events that resulted in the crash, Garcia said.
The 17-year-old Minneola boy was transported to South Lake Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The bus driver, a 78-year-old woman from Leesburg, was not injured.
LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has launched a public reporting tool to help in its research on a virus that is killing Florida freshwater turtles.
FWC has been studying turtle fraservirus (TFV1) since 2018 and is now asking the public to report any sick or dead turtles to help them combat and understand this deadly virus. TFV1 has been found in Lake County, in addition to several other counties in Central Florida, but it could be present throughout the state, FWC warns; it has been identified in softshells, cooters, sliders and snapping turtles.
Signs a turtle could be infected:
Appears sluggish, unresponsive or reluctant to flee.
Stays in shallow water or beached on banks for prolonged periods of time.
Head and neck outstretched flat along the ground.
Sunken, swollen crusty and/or cloudy eyes.
Reddened skin on head, neck, limbs or bottom of shell.
Swims irregularly (sideways, in circles or is unable to submerge)
Sick sofshell turtles are slow and lethargic. PHOTO: FWC
In 2021, FWC enacted an executive order prohibiting unpermitted taking and transporting of softshell turtles and yellow-bellied sliders to reduce the spread of TFV1, Turtles should not be captured and transported to a new location even if they seem healthy.
LEESBURG, Fla.—A man accused of exposing himself at a Leesburg park and in front of a Lake County Fire Rescue firefighter is being held in the Lake County Jail on $3,000 bond.
Leesburg Police Department responded to Rogers Park, 610 South 9th Street shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday on two separate reports of a man exposing himself and loitering around the restrooms; one caller provided a description of the man, later identified as Desmond Seymore Harris Jr., 47, of Leesburg.
As one officer canvassed the area, a second officer reported there was a man in the women’s restroom and officers stood by the door as Harris exited a stall with his pants “open” and falling down, according to an arrest affidavit.
Harris told police he needed to use the restroom and an officer asked, “The women’s bathroom?” Harris replied, “yes,” and officers advised Harris he is not a woman and he reportedly said, “I know but I had to take a (expletive.”) Officers explained he should only be using the men’s restroom.
Harris identified himself and officers patted him down and found loose marijuana and tobacco wrapped up in a napkin and he was told to place his hands behind his back because he was being detained for the marijuana and for further investigation into the exposure complaint, according to the affidavit.
An officer cuffed Harris’ left hand and he began to pull away as the officer tried to cuff his right hand and he was redirected to the ground. Officers were able to cuff his right hand and detain him. One officer continued to search him and found a cigar filled with a mix of tobacco and marijuana while the second officer spoke with one of the victims of the alleged exposure.
The victim said he was walking to the restroom at the park when he saw a man he identified as Harris standing in the grass exposing himself toward traffic. The victim exited the restroom and Harris called him a racial slur and then entered the women’s bathroom. The second complainant wished to remain anonymous, and officers were unable to locate them on scene.
EMS responded to the scene and Harris requested to be taken to UF Health Leesburg Hospital. When the arresting officer arrived at the hospital, an LCFR firefighter told the officer Harris exposed himself while he was waiting to be assigned to a bed. Harris was told to cover himself and he complied, according to the affidavit.
Harris was medically cleared and arrested for exposure of sexual organs, resisting arrest and possession of marijuana. He was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he continues to be held on $3,000 bond.
LEESBURG, Fla.—A Mount Dora man is facing a slew of charges after ramming a stolen vehicle into a Lake County Sheriff’s Office cruiser, fleeing to Sumter County, striking multiple stop sticks and fleeing back into Lake County where he was finally apprehended Sunday afternoon.
Henry Lee Gamble-Coleman, 26, was spotted around 5 p.m. in Leesburg by LCSO deputies in a vehicle stolen from Eustis, according to an arrest affidavit. Deputies attempted to pull Gamble-Coleman over near the intersection of South 14th Street and South Street and Gamble-Coleman “rapidly” accelerated and struck the passenger side of a K9 cruiser. He fled westbound on State Road 44 under the watchful eye of Eagle One, LCSO’s helicopter and traveled into Sumter County into a neighborhood on Heritage Boulevard.
Deputies again tried to stop Gamble-Coleman and he fled again, striking stop sticks with both passenger-side tires. He continued to flee and struck stop sticks on the driver’s side and turned back onto State Road 44, where he fled toward Lake County, the affidavit states.
Gamble-Coleman continued to flee at a low speed and deputies, fearing he would wreck, shut down the intersection of State Road 44 and County Road 468 and Gamble-Coleman turned onto Weber Avenue, a dead-end street, according to the affidavit.
He pulled into a parking lot on Weber Avenue, exited the stolen vehicle and fled on foot. A K9 handler released K9 Murphy and Gamble-Coleman was apprehended and taken into custody. He refused to identify himself but was later identified using “law enforcement resources” according to the affidavit.
He was arrested for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, grand theft auto, fleeing to elude, resisting without violence, driving while license suspended and failure to identify to law enforcement. He was transported to the Lake County Jail where he was booked for at least the 13th time since 2019. He is being held on $16,000 bond.
K9 Murphy is seen here with his handler LCSO Deputy Corey Lebrecque, earlier this year when they were honored as K9 of the Year by the Eustis Elks Lodge. PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department has released the name of the pedestrian killed in a crash Sept. 8.
Stanley L. Rollins, 59, Mount Dora, was crossing U.S. Highway 441, near Mt. Vernon Road, just after 4:30 p.m. Sept. 8, when he was struck by a silver 2010 Nissan traveling north on U.S. Highway 441 and being driven by Alexander Aguilar, 19, of Leesburg, according to LPD Capt. Joe Iozzi. The investigation into the crash closed several lanes of traffic on U.S. Highway 441.
Rollins was pronounced deceased on the scene; the crash remains under investigation.
TAVARES, Florida—A six-month long undercover drug investigation targeting fentanyl traffickers has wrapped up with the arrests of 15 people and six more are on the run, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
A joint operation between LCSO’s Special Investigations Bureau, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the City County Investigation Bureau— which includes police officers from Clermont, Eustis, Leesburg and Mount Dora—uncovered a variety of illegal narcotics being distributed throughout the county, including trafficking amounts of deadly fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA.
Law enforcement developed information from the public to aid in the investigation and obtained warrants for 21 individuals on a total of 50 charges that range from trafficking in narcotics to minor possession.
“Operations like this and the many we have done in the past save lives. I’m proud of the dedication and commitment of our undercover agents to keep Lake County safe,” Said Sheriff Peyton Grinnell.
Six people involved in the case have eluded authorities and are still being sought: Scottie Crosby, George Medina, Jason Simpson, Kourtney Smith, Tyson Smith and Derrick Walker.
LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department has released few details about the crash that killed a pedestrian on U.S. Highway 441 Friday afternoon.
The pedestrian, a 59-year-old male of Mount Dora, was crossing U.S. Highway 441, near Mt. Vernon Road, just after 4:30 p.m. Friday, when he was struck by a silver 2010 Nissan traveling north on U.S. Highway 441 and being driven by Alexander Aguilar, 19, of Leesburg, according to LPD Capt. Joe Iozzi. The investigation into the crash closed several lanes of traffic on U.S. Highway 441.
The pedestrian was pronounced deceased on the scene and his name still has not been released pending notification of next of kin, Iozzi told Inside Lake. The crash remains under investigation.
LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department is investigating a fatal crash involving a pedestrian that occurred late Friday afternoon.
The crash occurred at U.S. Highway 441 and Mt. Vernon Road and closed the inside lanes of U.S. Highway 441; the center and outside lanes are open, according to a social media post by LPD around 5 p.m. Friday. Police are urging motorists to use caution in the area.
LEESBURG, Fla.—A Leesburg motorcyclist was killed Monday after he ran a stop sign in unincorporated Leesburg, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The 84-year-old man was riding a 2007 Harley-Davidson motorcycle eastbound on El Presidente Boulevard when he failed to stop at the stop sign at U.S. Highway 27 while attempting to make a left turn around 2:10 p.m., Trooper Migdalisis Garcia said in a press release.
The motorcycle entered the direct path of a 2015 Toyota Corolla traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 27 and being driven by a 31-year-old woman of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The front of the Corolla struck the left side of the motorcycle, fatally injuring the motorcycle rider. He was transported to Orlando Health South Lake Hospital- Blue Cedar, where he was pronounced deceased. The driver of the Corolla was not injured.
EUSTIS, Fla.—An Orlando teen was arrested at Thursday night’s Eustis High School football game after Eustis Police Department school resource officers recognized him from a prior incident and then found him with a gun, according to EPD Chief Craig Capri.
Officers recognized J’son Rashad Cyprian, 18, when he entered the EHS campus for its game against Leesburg High School Thursday and approached him to speak with him about the February incident. Cyprian allegedly lied about his name and date of birth and upon searching Cyprian, officers found a loaded Ruger .380 with a scratched-off serial number, according to an arrest affidavit.
“This is just another example of the great work the men and women of Eustis Police Department do, day in and day out. Our officers are proactive and engaged,” Capri told Inside Lake. “School safety is a priority for us.”
During questioning, Cyprian admitted jumping the fence at EHS in February with an unidentified juvenile and fighting an EHS student in a bathroom. In that incident, Cyprian and the unidentified juvenile jumped the fence near the football field and went into an upstairs men’s bathroom in building 5 and battered the victim when he entered the bathroom. A student, who was not publicly identified, entered the bathroom a few minutes later and also threw some punches, according to the affidavit. After the altercation, Cyprian and the unidentified juvenile ran toward the back of the school, hopped the fence and fled.
Most of the incident, including when Cyprian and the unidentified juvenile jumped the fence and entered the campus, was captured on video.
Police were unable to positively identify the two suspects just after the incident but did locate an Instagram account belonging to one of the suspects, finally identified as Cyprian Thursday night.
Cyprian was arrested on numerous charges, including battery, disruption of a school function, trespassing on school grounds and burglary with battery stemming from the February incident, in addition to possession of a firearm on school grounds, alteration of a firearm serial number and giving false information to a law enforcement officer. He is being held in the Lake County Jail in $114,000 bond.
Inside Lakefirst reported on Cyprian in April after he was arrested for fleeing Mount Dora Police Department following vehicle burglaries that were captured on a resident’s camera. A gun with an altered serial number was found in the vehicle Cyprian was driving, along with drum magazine with 69 rounds. Cyprian was facing eight charges in that case; he pleaded no contest to fleeing and eluding and the other seven charges, including the gun and ammunition charges, were dropped.
Local journalism is more important than ever before and we are dedicated to the health and vibrancy of our community. Your support helps us maintain our independence and our ability to report the news without bias or influence.
