TAVARES, Florida—The woman accused of brutally murdering an elderly Mount Dora couple who was found dead in their home Dec. 31 made her first appearance in court Saturday morning, a week after the bodies were found.
Vickie Lynn Williams, 50, was soft-spoken as she answered Lake County Judge Emily Curington’s questions Saturday. Williams is facing two first-degree murder charges and a grand theft auto charge after being accused of killing Darryl and Sharon Getman in their home in Waterman Village and stealing their green Kia Soul. Williams was apprehended in Savannah, Georgia Monday and extradited to Lake County Friday.
Curington appointed Williams a public defender and scheduled her next court date for Jan. 30. Williams is being held without bond in the Lake County Jail. She was originally arrested just for grand theft auto, and two first-degree murder charges were added late Friday night; Inside Lake was the first media organization to report the added charges.
Inside Lake was the only media organization to discover Mount Dora Police officers interacted with a woman believed to be Williams at a Mount Dora hotel just hours before the murder.
Darryl and Sharon Getman were found murdered in their home Dec. 31.
TAVARES, Florida—Vickie Lynn Williams, the person of interest in the brutal slayings of an elderly Mount Dora couple is now facing murder charges.
Williams, 50, stands accused of killing Darryl Getman, 83, and Sharon Getman, 80, in their home in Mount Dora sometime between the late hours of Dec. 30 and the early morning hours of Dec. 31. Williams is suspected of killing the couple and fleeing in their Kia Soul just after 2 a.m. Dec. 31.
An alert was issued for the lime green SUV, and she was apprehended in Savannah, Georgia on Monday with the Getman’s vehicle and taken into custody. She was held at the Chatham County Jail in Georgia until she was extradited back to Lake County on Friday.
Vickie Lynn Williams PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
When she was booked into LCJ, she was only facing a grand theft auto charge, but Inside Lake was tipped off that two charges of first-degree murder were added late Friday night. Inside Lake confirmed the charges with Lake County Sheriff’s Office online booking information.
On Friday, only Inside Lake released a video that appears to show Williams interacting with Mount Dora Police officers at Hampton Inn, 19700 U.S. Highway 441, Mount Dora on Dec. 30, just hours before she is accused of killing the pair.
Williams’ first appearance is scheduled for Saturday morning.
Darryl and Sharon Getman were found murdered in their home Saturday.
TAVARES, Florida—Vickie Lynn Williams, the person of interest in the murders of an elderly Mount Dora couple is back in Florida and being held in the Lake County Jail.
Williams, 50, was apprehended Monday in Savannah, Georgia driving the couple’s stolen Kia Soul, Mount Dora Police Chief Michael Gibson said earlier this week. She was extradited back to Lake County Friday afternoon, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Fred Jones. Her first appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, Jones said.
Darryl, 83, and Sharon Getman, 80 were found murdered in their duplex home at 161 Lake Margaret Circle in Waterman Village after security personnel called 9-1-1 to report a “suspicious incident,” Gibson said. MDPD discovered the bodies and launched an investigation, and an alert was issued for the vehicle. Sources told Inside Lake the crime scene was gruesome.
Inside Lake received information Thursday that Williams had an interaction with MDPD officers at a local business Dec. 30, just a day before the bodies of the Getmans were found. Inside Lake worked all Friday afternoon to confirm the interaction and as of press time for this article, had not received an answer.
Darryl and Sharon Getman were found murdered in their home Saturday.
TAVARES, Florida—A Tavares man who attempted to steal a Tavares Police car Monday morning was quickly tased by a TPD officer while he was sitting in the driver’s seat and taken into custody, according to an arrest affidavit.
TPD responded to Ace Hardware, 509 South Duncan Drive around 6:15 a.m. Monday on a report of a suspicious person and found John Fulbright Jr., 42, of Tavares, who immediately blurted out, “Take me to jail, I did it all,” the affidavit states.
When an officer asked Fulbright to elaborate, he reportedly told the officer he stole a vehicle, stole several items from Circle K a few blocks away and was loitering at Ace Hardware, while a second officer went to investigate a heavily damaged vehicle nearby, according to the affidavit.
While speaking with the officer, Fulbright claimed he could not breathe, admitted ingesting methamphetamines and asked for water. When the second officer returned from investigating the damaged vehicle, the first officer went to his patrol car to get water. Shortly after, he heard Fulbright scream and found a freshly-tased Fulbright in the driver’s seat of the second officer’s patrol car.
John Fulbright PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Fulbright was taken into custody and handcuffed, and the second officer advised she was questioning Fulbright about the heavily-damaged Honda SUV he crashed, and he said, “I just stole it, like I’m about to steal yours,” and ran over to the officer’s car, jumped in driver’s seat and attempted to drive away. The officer deployed her taser and was able to stop Fulbright, according to the affidavit.
Tavares Fire Department and Lake EMS arrived on scene and removed the taser probes from Fulbright and upon searching him, officers found a syringe with a brown residue in his left pocket. The residue was not enough to test, the officer noted.
Fulbright told officers he stole the SUV from his “baby mama” and they determined he stole it from a residence on Rosewood Lane, where he was staying on the back porch. He said he crashed the blue SUV into a tree, causing approximately $6,000 in damages.
Fulbright was arrested for burglary of an authorized emergency vehicle, resisting arrest without violence, criminal mischief, grand theft auto and possession of paraphernalia. He transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was tased again for resisting with violence, and is being held on $11,000 bond.
LAKE COUNTY, Florida—In anticipation of this weekend’s chilly weather, Lake County will open two cold weather shelter locations Friday afternoon.
Both locations will open at 5:30 p.m. Friday; Trinity Assembly of God, 200 Urick Street, Fruitland Park will stay open 24 hours a day through Tuesday, and LifePointe Church, 3551 East Orange Avenue will be open 5:30 p.m. through 8 a.m. each day until Tuesday, according to Lake County Emergency Management.
A warming shelter will also be open from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday through Tuesday at the Salvation Army, 2605 South Street, Leesburg,
Lake Xpress will provide free transportation to cold weather shelters for those who need assistance traveling to a shelter Saturday and Sunday. Schedules are available on Lake Xpress’ website.
Residents who do not have access to a Lake Xpress fixed route must call 352-742-2612 by 1 p.m. Friday to arrange transportation. Clermont Police Department will check for those in need at Florida Citrus Tower, 141 South U.S. Highway 27, Clermont between 4:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. Friday; if no one is on site, a bus will not be dispatched, according to officials.
According to the U.S. National Weather Service Melbourne, temperatures are expected to be at or below freezing with the wind chill in the 20s in Lake County. Officials are urging residents to make sure pets have a warm place to stay with plenty of food and water, cover exposed pipes, and cover or in bring in sensitive plants.
TAVARES, Florida—A Tavares Police officer is OK after being exposed to fentanyl and overdosing around midnight Tuesday.
Officer Courtney Bannick was exposed to the lethal drug during a traffic stop where she found various narcotics on a passenger in the vehicle. She placed the suspect into custody and as she attempted to leave the scene, TPD Cpl. Cullen O’Shea heard Bannick breathless and choking on the radio and went to check on her, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan said.
Body cam video showing Tavares Police Officer Courtney Bannick overdosing after being exposed to fentanyl. (part 1)
When O’Shea approached Bannick’s vehicle, he found her drifting in and out of consciousness and she was removed from her vehicle. TPD Sgt. Jason Mahaney and Astatula Police Lt. Rodney Brown assisted with caring for Bannick while she continued to drift in and out of consciousness and she required three doses of Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, Sullivan said.
She (Bannick) is one of our most proactive officers,” Sullivan said. “She’s eager to get back to work.”
Bannick took precautions on the stop, including wearing gloves, and TPD is reminding its officers and the public to be careful, Sullivan said. “Tavares Police Department is thankful for the continuous training and quick response of the officers on scene that were able to assist Officer Bannick. Tavares Police Department recognizes that this day could have ended differently if our officers did not react the way they did.”
Tavares Police Officer Courtney Bannick
Bannick spoke exclusively with Inside Lake Tuesday afternoon.
“I remember starting to talk and inform dispatch I was leaving the scene with the female arrestee. As I put my car in drive and began to talk. I started to choke and feel lightheaded,” Bannick said. “I kept trying to talk on the radio and I wasn’t breathing and could tell I was fading. I kept telling myself to put the car in the park repeatedly. Then I saw O’Shea coming in the mirror.”
Bannick said she does not know how it happened.
“I don’t know how I was exposed, I did search the vehicle prior to searching her so I could’ve been exposed in there,” she told Inside Lake.
Bannick is feeling better, “I feel okay today, I have a headache which they said would be expected due to the Narcan.”
Officers perform traffic stops and find deadly drugs nearly every day; they use precautions, but can be exposed very easily.
“I’m thankful I had immediate help,” Bannick said. “I highly suggest never searching a vehicle or person alone. Always have that back up. If I didn’t have back up there last night, I wouldn’t be here today to talk about it. I hope people take this as a lesson. I’ve done this 100 times before. I search cars every night at work. You never know how strong the drugs really are.
The individuals involved in the traffic stop are facing felony charges, but have not been charged at this time, Sullivan said. The drugs that were found have been sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing.
Body cam video showing Tavares Police Officer Courtney Bannick overdosing after being exposed to fentanyl. (part 2)
LAKE COUNTY, Florida—A 23-year-old Astatula woman was killed early Sunday morning when the Polaris Ranger side-by-side she was in overturned in a water-filled ditch and trapped her, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The woman, along with a 22-year-old Mount Dora man, a 48-year-old Tavares man, and a 25-year-old woman from Grand Island, were in the all-terrain vehicle in a wooded area near the Orlando North Airpark, off Duda Road near County Road 448A when it overturned and ejected the woman, trapping her beneath the vehicle around 4:30 a.m., FHP Lt. Channing Taylor said in a press release.
The other three occupants suffered minor injuries and all four were transported to AdventHealth Apopka, where the woman was pronounced dead, Taylor said.
TAVARES, Florida—Body cam footage released by Tavares Police Department Friday shows a 14-year veteran Tavares Police officer using excessive force on a Eustis man during a consensual encounter and Tavares Police Chief Sarah Coursey has recommended he be fired over the incident, according to a press release.
“Officer (Jason) Baugh acted outside of policy and standard practice. When we learned of this incident, we took immediate action to rectify it,” Coursey said. “His actions are not indicative of how our officers act towards our community in which we serve and protect.”
Baugh, who started with TPD in 2008, was captured on body cam tasing Jaylin McMullen, 26, after chasing him inside a house in Tavares and then pointing his service weapon at McMullen, according to an internal affairs investigation. McMullen was arrested for resisting an officer without violence, and a violation of probation but the charges were dropped six days later.
Baugh spotted Jaylin McMullen driving down U.S. Highway 441 on Aug. 6 with a broken windshield, but did not perform a traffic stop, according to the report.
“I wasn’t in proximity to conduct a traffic stop,” Baugh told the internal affairs investigator, but he did attempt to locate the vehicle and found it with the engine running at a home in the 700 block of St. Clair Abrams Avenue, ran the tag and found that it came back to McMullen, who has a Eustis address. Baugh exited his patrol vehicle, spotted McMullen in the backyard of the home and ordered McMullen to come talk to him.
The exchange between Baugh and McMullen can be heard on body cam and is as follows:
McMullen: Yes, sir?
Baugh: How you doin’?
McMullen: Good.
Baugh: Your car?
McMullen: Yes.
Baugh: You just driving it?
McMullen: Yes, sir.
Baugh: Cool, come here and talk to me.
McMullen: OK, hold on, let me go (McMullen trails off as he is also talking on the phone.)
Baugh: Come talk to me.
Baugh: Come here.
Baugh: Come here.
(Baugh uses radio to make a transmission.)
Baugh: Come here.
(McMullen turns to enter the home, walking at a normal pace, not running.)
Baugh: Stop!
Baugh: Right now!
Approximately two seconds after Baugh yelled, “Stop!” he deployed his taser and strikes McMullen as he enters the home. The taser deployed a second time, rendering it useless and Baugh held McMullen at gunpoint while he removed the taser probes and handcuffed him. McMullen’s grandmother was in the room, and his sister and grandfather were in another room.
McMullen explained in a later interview that he was uncomfortable talking to Baugh in the backyard alone and was going into the house to get a family member.
A TPD lieutenant, who is now a captain, reviewed the Response to Resistance (use of force) report and the body cam and noted in the internal affairs report, “I had several concerns after reviewing the documentation and body camera footage and declined to sign off until further review with the chief of police.”
The lieutenant provided the documentation and footage to then-Chief Stoney Lubins, who also had several concerns, the report states. Lubins instructed that lieutenant and then-Lt. Coursey to meet with the State Attorney’s Office to review the case and the criminal charge against McMullen.
Assistant State Attorney Chad Monty said his office would not be prosecuting McMullen, and he was released from jail the same day, he spent a little more than six days in jail.
Baugh was demoted from sergeant to officer earlier this year after a separate internal investigation found that he violated TPD’s pursuit policy. Two other officers were also punished in that incident.
Baugh has until Dec. 9 to appeal the decision to terminate him.
TAVARES, Florida—A Tavares mom on her way to work was alerted by her doorbell camera to a man trying to break into her house while her daughter was inside, and he was quickly apprehended by Tavares Police officers earlier this month, according to an arrest affidavit.
Jess Hubbard, 36, who has been booked into the Lake County Jail 17 times on a variety of charges including trespassing, possession of methamphetamine and violation of probation, was captured on video ringing the doorbell at a home on Palm Way in Tavares around 4:30 a.m. Nov. 8, according to the affidavit.
When no one answered the door, Hubbard tried to get into the home by repeatedly twisting and pushing the doorknob, prompting the woman’s daughter to call 9-1-1 and then her mom. Her mom immediately turned around and went back home just in time to see a shadow moving on the eastern side of her property. The woman screamed at Hubbard to get away from her house several times and after stating law enforcement had been called, Hubbard fled westbound down Palm Way.
Hubbard attempted to hide behind a home about a block away and was located by a TPD officer, according to the affidavit. He was taken into custody and arrested for loitering and prowling and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he remains on $1,000 bond.
Tiffany Khoudali got quite the surprise as she made her way home from a tea party with her daughter Sunday afternoon when she saw a naked woman riding a motorcycle, she told Inside Lake.
At 5:59 p.m. as Khoudali drove northbound on U.S. Highway 441 near Buzzard Beach, she spotted a woman on a motorcycle. As they approached County Road 473, she first thought the woman was wearing flesh-colored leggings, “So I sped up a little,” she looked over, “And…she’s naked,” she told Inside Lake.
She quickly snapped a photo, because she knew no one would believe her, she said, and her son, Malik, a senior in high school, whipped out his phone and posted a video to Snapchat, she said.
Khoudali did not say anything to the woman, “She was looking straight ahead, not paying attention to anybody.” As the woman approached the red light at U.S. Highway 441 and County Road 473, she braked and allowed two cars to turn left onto County Road 473, but ran the light after that, Khoudali said. She was not wearing a helmet. “Not that I would ever put myself in that situation,” Khoudali said, “but if I was naked, I wouldn’t stop at traffic lights either.”
Khoudali posted to the popular Facebook group Leesburg’s Word Of Mouth and at press time the post had garnered more than 700 comments. Many made jokes and speculated why the woman was riding naked. Malik’s Snapchat video was set to music by an unrelated person and posted to another popular app, TikTok and shared hundreds of times.
Inside Lake reached out to surrounding law enforcement agencies Monday to inquire if the woman was spotted or arrested. Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Herrell said LCSO responded to a home in Altoona around 10 a.m. Sunday on a report a woman was drunk. When they arrived, she did not meet the criteria for a Baker Act and the complainant was given information on how to obtain an order for a mental health evaluation, Herrell said.
Inside Lake has identified the 49-year-old woman but we are not releasing her name because Sunday’s incident may have been a mental health issue. She was released on her own recognizance from the Lake County in July after being in jail for six week for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting an officer without violence; she is currently in the pre-trial intervention program for those charges.
Tavares Police Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan said her agency first became involved when they received a call from AdventHealth Waterman shortly before 5 p.m. The caller reported the woman came into the hospital wearing only a shirt that did not cover her nether region and was saying things that did not make sense. She was given paper scrub pants and left the hospital against medical advice, Sullivan said.
Janet Dickey Smith was at AdventHealth Waterman when the woman left. “She was barefoot (and) had a blanket wrapped around her. She got on the Harley and three security guards were following her,” she told Inside Lake. One security was on the phone and taking down her tag number, she said.
TPD began looking for her, but officers were unsuccessful, Sullivan told Inside Lake. TPD also received a call from Eustis Police Department around 6 p.m. stating the woman was riding naked on Lake Eustis Drive near Ann Rou Road; attempts to locate her were still unsuccessful.
She was eventually stopped near Gator Harley-Davidson on U.S. Highway 441 by LCSO shortly after 6 p.m. and transported by Lake EMS to a local hospital.
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