SUMTER COUNTY, Florida—Four people were seriously injured in an early morning crash near The Villages, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A 35-year-old Leesburg man was driving a sedan eastbound on State Road 44 when he sped through a red light and collided with an SUV being driven by a 32-year-old Wildwood woman that was traveling southbound on Morse Boulevard, FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said in a press release.
Both vehicles rotated and came to a final stop on the south shoulder of State Road 44, while the front axle of the sedan and the engine block of the SUV came to a final rest in the westbound lanes, Gaskins said.
Both drivers and two passengers in the sedan, a 22-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man, both of Leesburg, were all transported to local hospitals with serious injuries. All the occupants of the sedan are in serious condition and the driver of the SUV is in critical condition, according to Gaskins.
The crash shut down the eastbound lanes of State Road 44 and the lanes were still closed nearly seven hours after the crash. The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office assisted FHP with traffic control.
LEESBURG, Florida—Shoppers have a new place in town to hunt for bargains.
The first of its kind in Lake County, Bin Pickin, 1015 West North Boulevard, Leesburg, is a new concept for the area, Jennifer Wooten, who owns the store with her husband, Jamie, told Inside Lake this week.
The Wootens purchase truckloads of overstock and returns from Amazon, Kohl’s and CVS Pharmacy and offer all the items for one price three days a week, Wooten said. Fridays, each item is $10, Saturdays, items are $7 and Mondays, they are just $3. Items are placed on large tables and shoppers can pick through the tables hunting for treasures. “It is Black Friday every week,” Wooten said.
GRAPHIC: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake
Not all items are worth $10, and Wooten suggests coming back on $7 day or $3 day to purchase those items. Big-ticket items are often snatched up at the $10 price point and shoppers can miss out if they do not buy the item when they see it, Wooten said.
“It may not be there on $7 day; most likely it won’t be there,” she said.
Bins are topped off and replenished Saturday morning before $7 day, but $3 days are the items that are leftover from Fridays and Saturdays.
“Fridays and Saturdays are all new stuff,” she said.
They have a large variety of items, and they change from week to week with each new truckload. Friday marks Bin Pickin’s third week and shoppers have found everything from makeup, to video games, telescopes and home décor. Electronics have been popular and Wooten said so far the most expensive thing they have seen is a mini PC that retails for as much as $800.
Photo courtesy of Bin Pickin
The store has gotten off to a fantastic start, Wooten said, with lines wrapped around the building on Fridays, more than an hour before they open; and there are always at least 15 to 20 people in the store the entire time they are open.
“The community has been great,” she said. “We have loyal customers already.”
Items are sold “as is” and Bin Pickin does not accept returns, but it offers a box opening station where shoppers can take a box to an employee and the employee will open it up to ensure all pieces are there. If not, the customer is not obligated to buy the item, according to Wooten. Employees will also plug electronic items in to make sure they power on, she said. Amazon items that are in plain boxes have small labels that can be scanned with the Amazon app, right from a cell phone and customers will know what is inside the box.
Photo courtesy of Bin Pickin
Earlier this week, Wooten opened on Tuesday for $1 day to clear out some of the lower-ticket merchandise and Bin Pickin will be adding a few $1 days per month in the future, she said. She may also add a few nighttime events to accommodate more people who have daytime work schedules, she said.
On Thursdays and Fridays, Bin Pickin posts short videos on its Facebook page to preview some of the items it will have that week. Shoppers can watch the videos by visiting the Bin Pickin – Leesburg Facebook page or by clicking here.
TAVARES, Florida—A Tavares High School student was found with a gun on campus Monday, according to an arrest affidavit.
Freddy Adams, 16, was pulled out of class around 12:30 p.m. Monday because he and two other students were believed to be under the influence of the drugs, the affidavit states. Adams’ backpack was searched by an assistant principal and he found a small black bag that contained a Remington Arms R51 9mm. The names of the other two students were not released.
The gun was not loaded, but the AP found a magazine that contained six 9mm rounds in the bag with the gun, according to the affidavit. Adams, of Leesburg, was arrested by THS’ school resource deputy for possession of a firearm on school property, carrying a concealed firearm and possession of a firearm by a minor; he was transported to the Lake County Jail.
LEESBURG, Florida—Leesburg Police Department is investigating a crash that killed a Crystal River man Sunday night.
Shortly after 8:15 p.m. Sunday, LPD responded to a crash between a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a Kia SUV near State Road 44 and Euclid Street, LPD Capt. Joe Iozzi said in a press release.
According to the preliminary investigation, Rodney J. Balderas, 41, of Crystal River was westbound on a black 2013 Harley-Davidson when he collided with a 2016 black Kia SUV being driven by John R. O’Steen, 73, of Leesburg. Balderas was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The crash caused traffic to be diverted around the scene for about three hours, Iozzi said. LPD is asking anyone with information about the crash to call LPD’s Traffic Unit at 352-787-2121.
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Florida—A Leesburg man is being held in the Osceola County Jail on no bond, accused of shooting a truck that contained a 5-year-old child in a road rage incident on Florida’s Turnpike Sunday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tara Crescenzi.
A trooper was conducting traffic enforcement in the median of Florida’s Turnpike near Kenansville shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sunday when he observed a white sedan driving recklessly and changing lanes around a white pickup truck in the northbound lanes.
The trooper made his way into traffic and watched the white car continue to improperly change lanes at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour until it was caught in traffic, according to an incident report. FHP pulled the car over and ordered the occupants to exit the vehicle. The driver, Zion Zaire Vincent Waller, 22, and his passenger, a 22-year-old woman from Minneola, exited the vehicle and Waller was immediately placed under arrest for reckless driving. His passenger was detained and placed in a patrol vehicle; Inside Lake is not naming the Minneola woman because she was not charged with a crime. Troopers began to inventory the vehicle before it was towed and discovered a Premier Firearms 556 rifle and a Glock 45 handgun in plain view, the report states.
Zion Waller is seen here in his January 2023 Lake County Jail mugshot. Waller was arrested in Lake County in January for domestic battery by strangulation and two counts of child abuse. The charges were dropped just two days before the road rage incident.
As they inventoried the car, a white pickup truck pulled up to the scene and the driver told troopers his truck had been shot by Waller and pointed to a bullet hole on the left side of the truck between the driver’s door and the passenger door. The driver said the white sedan had been driving erratically around the truck before shooting at it, while it contained him, another adult and a 5-year-old child, according to the report.
FHP questioned Waller, who said he was involved in a road rage incident with the truck several miles south and the driver of the truck pointed what appeared to be a weapon at him. Waller told troopers he feared for his life and shot one round at the truck and sped up to get away. Waller said he did not call 9-1-1 because he did not “feel safe” pulling over, the report states. His passenger, the Minneola woman, told troopers Waller shot at the truck, attempting to shoot at the tires.
A bullet hole in a truck is seen here following a road rage incident involving a Leesburg man Sunday. PHOTO: Florida Highway Patrol
The driver of the truck consented to a search and no weapons were found in the vehicle.
Waller was arrested for three counts of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, shooting into an occupied vehicle, carrying a concealed firearm and reckless driving. He was transported to the Osceola County Jail, where he is being held on no bond. The occupants of the truck were not injured.
Waller was arrested in Lake County in January for domestic battery by strangulation and two counts of child abuse. The charges were dropped just two days before the road rage incident.
OCALA, Florida—A Leesburg man who was apprehended near a Tavares motel more than a year ago has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Timothy Eric “Tater” Evans, 41, was taken into custody March 3, 2022 near La Bella Inn, 101 West Burleigh Boulevard by multiple agencies on a federal warrant issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) stemming from an incident that occurred in Tavares on May 21, 2021.
In May 2021, Evans was found with a stolen vehicle and an officer with Tavares Police Department searched the stolen vehicle and found MDMA, also known as Molly, and a loaded gun in the center console. A search of Evans’ phone revealed numerous photos of illegal narcotics and guns, along with messages in which Evans was attempting to buy and sell guns, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The gun charge was dropped by the state and picked up by the U.S. Attorney’s Office; Evans pleaded guilty in June 2022.
Evans was later taken into custody in Tavares with the cooperation of multiple agencies, including ATF, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Mount Dora Police Department and Tavares Police Department.
PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
“We assisted ATF, FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) and Mount Dora Police Department in the apprehension of Timothy Evans on an active federal warrant,” TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake last year. TPD also transported Evans to the Lake County Jail, according to a report.
According to an MDPD report, officers from that agency assisted with blocking eastbound traffic on U.S. Highway 441 near the motel and Evans and another male were ordered out of the vehicle they were in and taken into custody without incident. The vehicle was then towed to MDPD for secure storage.
Multiple sources, as far back as November 2021, have told Inside Lake Evans, an eight-time convicted felon, is suspected of committing a high-profile crime in the area, but he has never been arrested for the crime. Evans’ case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together many levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and gun violence, the U.S Attorney’s Office said. Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk prosecuted the case.
LEESBURG, Florida—For the third month in a row, a Lake County resident has claimed a $1 million prize from a Florida Lottery scratch-off ticket, the Florida Lottery announced Friday.
Leesburg resident Edward Haggerty purchased the $20 GOLD RUSH LIMITED ticket Circle K, 2211 North Citrus Boulevard, Leesburg and chose to take his prize as a one-time, lump sum payment of $795,000, officials said. The store that sold the ticket will receive a $2,000 bonus.
In February, Cynthia Jackubowski, of Groveland claimed a $1 million prize from a ticket she purchased in Leesburg and last month, William Rundall, 69, of Astatula claimed his $1 million winnings from a ticket he purchased in Astatula.
LAKE COUNTY, Florida—Lake County officials imposed a burn ban effective Friday that will last indefinitely, according to a press release.
The burn ban is in effect for all of Lake County and prohibits the burning of yard debris, land and recreational fires but does not include outdoor fireplaces, barbecue grills and barbecue pits that have a total fuel area of 3 feet or less and 2 feet or less in height.
Dry conditions forced the move by county officials and surrounding counties have enacted similar bans. For more than three weeks, the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) rating has exceeded 500 and the ban is necessary for public safety, the press release stated.
When the KDBI rating falls below 500 for seven consecutive days, the county will lift the ban.
TAVARES, Florida—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has increased the reward for a man who ditched his DUI manslaughter trial earlier this month and arrested his girlfriend for assisting him.
Zachery Maurice Waldo, 36, was on trial earlier this month for killing Christopher Smith, 44, his wife, Jessica Smith, 35, and their daughter Hailey Smith, 13, all of Eustis, more than three years ago. Their son Hunter, just 11 years old, was the sole survivor in the vehicle his family was riding in. Christopher and Jessica died on the scene of the Christmas Eve 2019 crash and Hailey died on Christmas Day 2019.
Earlier this month, as his trial was underway, Waldo left the Lake County Courthouse on a lunch break and never came back; Waldo was out on bond for the crimes and that is why he was allowed to leave the courthouse during the break. Leesburg Police Department, LCSO and U.S. Marshals began searching for him immediately and he was found guilty in absentia by a jury the same day.
Last week, LPD and the U.S. Marshals searched the home of Waldo’s girlfriend, Melinesia Shauntel Jones, 32, on East Street, near Dixie Avenue, in Leesburg but nobody was home, LPD Capt. Joe Iozzi told Inside Lake last week.
On Monday, Jones was arrested on a Lake County warrant by U.S, Marshals and LCSO on a traffic stop on Vine Street in Leesburg, according to LCSO. Jones is facing numerous charges including principal to failure to appear, accessory after the fact to DUI manslaughter, false info to law enforcement in a felony investigation, and accessory after the fact to DUI with serious bodily injury. She is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond.
The probable cause affidavit in Jones’ has been sealed by a judge, so no other details are available.
The day of Jones’ arrest, LCSO announced the reward for information leading to Waldo’s capture was increased to $10,000—$5,000 from Crimeline and an additional $5,000 from the Florida Sheriff’s Association Criminal Apprehension Assistance Program.
If you have information on Waldo’s whereabouts, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
LEESBURG, Florida—A Leesburg man was arrested last week after he was caught on video cutting wires at his former home earlier this month.
On March 10, the owner of the home reported his former tenant, Frank Kendle Collins, 60, was captured on video cutting wires from a power pole to the home on Rancho Drive in the Bassville Park area of unincorporated Leesburg, causing $5,000 worth of damage. Collins also cut wires under the home and on the air conditioning unit, the homeowner told the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
LCSO reviewed the surveillance video and Collins can be seen cutting the wires on the pole, moving to the side of the property and then exiting through the front gate with multiple items, according to the probable cause affidavit. The items were valued at $300, the homeowner told LCSO.
A warrant was issued for Collins’ arrest for criminal mischief and petit theft on March 14 and he was arrested at his home March 17. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on $3,000 bond.
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.
