TAVARES, Florida—The 5-year-old boy who was critically injured in a crash on County Road 448 Saturday morning has died, according to Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tara Crescenzi.
Daksh Wadhwa, 30, of Tavares, was driving a 2022 BMW 740I westbound on County Road 448 near Shirley Shores Road at 8:30 a.m. Saturday when he veered into the eastbound lane. Both he and the driver of a 2008 Honda Civic swerved to the left to avoid a collision, and the right front of the BMW struck the right side of the Honda, Crescenzi said in a press release.
The driver of the Honda, a 29-year-old Mount Dora woman, was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center with serious injuries; her passenger, a 5-year-old boy identified as her son in social media posts, was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children with critical injuries. He succumbed to his injuries late Sunday night, Crescenzi said.
PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Wadhwa, who was unsteady on his feet and had alcohol emanating from his breath, according to the arrest report. He provided a breath sample and his BAC was .189, more than twice the legal limit of .08. He was arrested for DUI with serious bodily injury, possession of cocaine and smuggling contraband into a correctional facility. He was released on $3,000 bond Saturday; the charge has since been upgraded to DUI manslaughter, Crescenzi said Monday.
Many of our readers have questioned why Wadhwa’s bond was so low; we are working on getting information from FHP and the Lake County Jail for clarification.
TAVARES— The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash they say was caused by a drunk driver Saturday morning.
Daksh Wadhwa, 30, of Tavares, was driving a 2022 BMW 740I westbound on County Road 448 near Shirley Shores Road at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. He veered into the eastbound lane, and both he and the driver of a 2008 Honda Civic both swerved to the left to avoid a collision, and the right front of the BMW struck the right side of the Honda, FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi said in a press release.
The driver of the Honda, a 29-year-old Mount Dora woman, was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center with serious injuries; her passenger, a 5-year-old boy, also of Mount Dora, was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children with critical injuries.
Wadhwa provided a breath sample, and his BAC was .189, above the legal limit of .08. He was arrested for DUI with serious bodily injury, possession of cocaine and smuggling contraband into a correctional facility. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on $3,000 bond.
EUSTIS, Florida—A vehicle fire that began late Friday night destroyed two vehicles and spread to a home on South Exeter Street leaving the home uninhabitable, sources told Inside Lake.
Eustis Fire Department, Mount Dora Fire Department, Tavares Fire Department and Lake County Fire Rescue battled the blaze throughout the early morning hours beginning around 11:30 p.m. Friday and continuing until 4 a.m. Saturday, a source told Inside Lake. Lake EMS also responded to the scene.
When fire crews arrived at the home at 573 South Exeter Street, near Eustis High School, a jeep was fully involved, and the fire spread to the roof of the home. No one was injured, but the home is uninhabitable. The cause of the fire was unknown at press time.
TAVARES, Florida—An Alabama man already in the Volusia County on unrelated charges has been arrested in the murders of two men, one month and one day after they were found.
Roger Myles Gilbert, 35, is accused of killing Shane Eugene Clements, 41, of Altoona and David Thomas Mikell, 34, at Mikell’s home located at 45918 Pennsylvania Avenue in Altoona. The two men were found dead of gunshot wounds around 9 p.m. Aug. 25, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Herrell.
LCSO has not released a motive for the slayings.
Just a day after the murders, Gilbert was arrested in Ormond Beach after he fled a traffic stop in shortly before noon that Friday and crashed in an Ormond Beach KFC parking lot. Samantha Butler, age unknown, who was also named a person of interest in the double murder, was found dead in the white Volvo.
Gilbert fled on foot and Butler was found in the car unresponsive and pronounced dead on the scene by Ormond Beach Fire Rescue.
“We do not believe Samantha Butler’s death is a result of injuries sustained in the crash,” OBPD said in a press release last month.
Gilbert fled to a nearby Dollar Tree, hiding first in a back room and then running through the store while grabbing at his waist. Gilbert was tased by officers and found with a Smith & Wesson firearm in his waistband. The gun was later found to be stolen from Mountain Brook, Alabama in August
Gilbert was arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, carrying a concealed firearm and resisting an officer without violence and has been held in the Volusia County Jail.
Monday he was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Clements and Mikell and is being held on no bond.
Click below to read our previous stories on this case.
Operation Aware will provide wristbands and a database for first responders and the special needs community.
TAVARES, Florida—Two law enforcement agencies have joined forces to provide a new tool to the community that will give first responders valuable information when responding to calls for service in the special needs community.
Nearly a year in the making, Tavares Police Department began its Operation Aware initiative in November 2021 and has since teamed up with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to provide wristbands to members of the community that may require a different response from law enforcement.
“We are big on community policing,” TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake last year. “There are always ways we can be better,” she said, “and there are always opportunities for the community to teach us how to better serve them.”
Operation Aware is a “total approach” to the issues facing the special needs community and will provide education, outreach and follow up,” Sullivan said.
Newly-appointed Tavares Police Chief Sarah Coursey worked with Sullivan to get this program up and running. “Operation Aware is near and dear to my heart; it gives us the opportunity to serve our community in a unique way when our response requires a different approach,” Coursey told Inside Lake.
The wristbands are available for community members who have intellectual and developmental disorders, including, but not limited to, autism, dementia. PTSD and Alzheimer’s, according to Sullivan. Loved ones and caregivers are encouraged to reach out to TPD or LCSO and register special needs individuals to get them a wristband and enter them into the database.
The bright blue wristbands will immediately let law enforcement officers know they are interacting with an individual with special needs, and provide them with vital information including names, addresses, emergency contacts and medical conditions. Officers and dispatchers will have access to the information and individual addresses will be flagged so the officer is aware of any special circumstances before they arrive to the call. Officers will know if the individual is non-verbal, has a sensitivity to lights and sirens and any other pertinent information that would be helpful to officers. They will also help reunification by giving officers and deputies information immediately that can be shared with media outlets and on social media, Sullivan said.
The wristbands will also be a tool for the public; they will have a number and a QR code that can be scanned and will inform the public to call 9-1-1. The wristband never needs to be charged. To register, please visit https://tavares.org/1327/Operation-Aware or https://lcso.org/oa/
LAKE COUNTY, Florida—A little more than a month into the new school year and two more Lake County Schools students have been arrested for threats, according to two arrest affidavits.
Christopher Joseph Wallace, 17, of East Ridge High School and Braedyn A. Auker, 16, of Tavares High School are each facing a felony charge of written threats to kill after they were arrested in separate incidents Monday.
A student came forward Monday morning at East Ridge High School in Clermont about some concerning texts Wallace had allegedly sent Friday, according to the affidavit. The student said Wallace sent texts that stated, “Because I know I can’t control myself; I’d hurt or possibly kill one of you, spread the message” in addition to, “…there isn’t a remorseful feeling in my body anymore and when I say kill, I mean beat one of you to the point of death; all of you having me feeling betrayed and just debating how I should handle it or leave it be and calm down, but I physically can’t mentally either.”
Wallace was questioned by a Lake County Sheriff’s Office school resource deputy (SRD) and members of administration, and he admitted he made “some statements” based on his “angry behavior” and does not always realize or remember what he said.
Wallace, who is already on probation, was arrested and transported to the Lake County Jail for booking.
Also on Monday, an assistant principal at Tavares High School brought some Snapchat posts to the attention of the SRD. The posts were threatening in nature and stated, “If you go to THS just know I didn’t give up. I’m coming back and when someone fuels the fire I won’t just sit there your (sic) gonna end up with Ur brains out on the school campus and ur momma pleading for doctors to keep you alive,” the affidavit states. “Yk (you know) who you are and I’m coming after u.”
The SRD investigated and identified the poster as Auker, based on another post that references dropping out of school; Auker and his mother met with school officials Thursday to discuss Auker dropping out, according to the affidavit. Auker was also identified in a photo on one of the posts, by an assistant principal. Auker was questioned and admitted making the threats; he said he was upset due to ongoing issues with friends and an ex-girlfriend. Auker arrested for written threats to kill and turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
This is the second Tavares High School student arrested this school year for threats.
TAVARES, Florida—The man accused of exposing himself in his Eustis neighborhood last month is back in jail.
Mark Ronald Banks, 53, is in the Lake County Jail on no bond after failing to appear in court Sept. 7 on a charge of exposure of sexual organs stemming from an arrest in August.
In that case, a neighbor accused Banks of standing at his doorway naked and masturbating while facing Glover Street in Eustis on numerous occasions. The neighbor explained he has observed Banks masturbating naked two to three times a week at 7 a.m. for the past six months, according to an arrest affidavit.
A maintenance man for an apartment complex nearby Banks’ home told Eustis Police in August, he installed a fence panel to try to block Banks from view and the maintenance man said while he had never seen Banks masturbate, he had seen him stand naked in his doorway several times a week.
When officers located Banks, they explained there were some complaints about his sexual behavior, and he immediately said, “I don’t do that,” the affidavit states. He appeared nervous and again said, “I don’t do that.” He was questioned about both standing at his door naked and masturbating and repeated, “I don’t do that.”
He was arrested Aug. 12 on that charge and released the same day on $1,000 bond. He turned himself in on the warrant for failure to appear Sept. 8 and continues to be held on no bond. His next court date is scheduled for Sept. 28.
Click below to read Inside Lake’s previous story on Mark Banks.
TAVARES, Florida—An argument over an alleged affair led to an Apopka man firing a shot near an SUV with a toddler in it and landed the man in jail Thursday, according to an arrest affidavit.
Richard Joseph Kinchens, 39, pulled up in the front yard of a woman’s home Thursday at Palm Gardens Resort and began arguing with her because his girlfriend accused him of having a “fling” with the woman, she told Tavares Police Department.
A friend of the woman’s heard the argument and went to the home where he heard Kinchens call him a derogatory name, according to the affidavit. He confronted Kinchens as he walked to his car and Kinchens attempted to pull out. The man was blocking Kinchens in with his SUV and when he attempted to move it, Kinchens fired one shot in the direction of the SUV that had the man’s 3 -year-old son in it and another adult male. The bullet struck a trailer that was being towed by the SUV, the affidavit states.
Kinchens fled the scene in white hatchback and police received information Kinchens may be on Maplewood Street; they canvassed the area and found the car he fled in at a home and later contacted Kinchens by phone. He agreed to meet officers and denied shooting at anyone. He was taken into custody and found with a 9mm round in his pocket, he said he found. He was arrested for two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of possession of ammunition or firearm by a convicted felon. He was released on $24,000 bond.
TAVARES, FLORIDA—The California convicted murderer accused of stabbing and beating a Tavares woman in late July has bonded out of jail.
Oren Derell Warren, 57, of Sacramento, Calif. was being held on just $16,500 bond after a woman showed up at Tavares Police Department, beaten and bloody, on July 30, and said Warren repeatedly choked, beat and stabbed her. The victim had to be airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center due to the extent of her injuries.
Warren was found at the woman’s home with a knife on his hip and taken into custody. He was arrested for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, battery by strangulation, possession of a concealed weapon by a convicted felon, false imprisonment and deprivation of 911.
PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
The arresting officer requested a “no-bond” status, because of Warren’s criminal history, including a conviction for murder in California in 1984 and several other violent charges that were dismissed in California and Texas, in addition to Warren not having any ties to Florida except the victim.
However, the bond was set at $16,500 by Circuit Judge Michael Takac, a deviation from the bond schedule for the 5th Judicial Circuit, which includes Lake County. According to Administrative Order A-2014-12 A, the suggested bond is $29,000.
The bond schedule is merely a suggestion, and it is not a binding order, Takac told Inside Lake last month. He said he did not remember the particulars of Warren’s case at the time but stressed that bonds are not a punishment.
“In the eyes of the legal system, he is still presumed innocent. You don’t set bond to punish people, you set the bond to make sure they show up to court,” Takac said.
Warren, who bonded out Monday, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. His next court date is scheduled for Sept. 27, and he is represented by Mona Payne, of the Public Defender’s Office.
Click below to read Inside Lake’s previous story on Oren Warren
TAVARES, Florida— Sworn in to a standing ovation at Tavares City Hall, Sarah Coursey made history Wednesday as she became the city’s first female police chief.
Coursey, a 13-year veteran of Tavares Police Department, was surrounded by friends and family as her 8-year-old daughter (almost 9!) Kaelyn pinned her Wednesday afternoon at the Tavares City Council meeting.
Kaelyn was beaming with pride as she pinned her mom and when she spoke to Inside Lake.
“I feel really proud of my mom. It’s a big part of my life and hers. I can’t believe she’s chief!”
A large crowd came to support Coursey, including local politicians, police chiefs and members of Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell’s command staff.
Tavares Police Chief Sarah Coursey speaks to a large crowd after being sworn in as the city’s first female police chief. PHOTO: Bonnie Whicher/Inside Lake
Taking the reins from Stoney Lubins, who retired late last month after 30 years at the department, and 21 years as chief, Coursey plans to “ramp up” community involvement and continue to build upon the successes Lubins accomplished, she told Inside Lake earlier this week.
“Tavares is an amazing department filled with hard-working, dedicated, passionate officers and the agency will become accredited in October,” Coursey said.
Her plans as chief include continued transparency and continued education for officers so they can better serve the agency. She plans to work in partnership with the community and throughout the city to meet common goals. “I will always ensure the officers know I have their back- they are what makes Tavares Police Department so special.”
Coursey has served in many roles during her years at TPD, including patrol, detective, public information officer and was a member of Lubins’ command staff before she was appointed chief.
“I have had great mentors throughout my career, many of which provided building blocks, upon which I made my own,“ Coursey said.
She used those building blocks, along with her love of people, to start what is closest to her heart, the Tavares Police Charity. “It’s a way that we can give back to the community we serve. People usually see us when we are responding to a call for service, the charity gives us the ability to lend a helping hand beyond that.”
Coursey was born and raised in Tavares—third generation— and attended Tavares Elementary, Tavares Middle and Tavares High schools. She also attended Lake-Sumter State College and last year earned her master’s degree in Criminal Justice with an emphasis on law enforcement from Columbia College. She has taken dozens of training classes as a law enforcement officer and just recently completely a chief’s training in Tallahassee.
Tavares Police Chief Sarah Coursey is a third-generation Tavares native. Coursey’s mom shared some classic photos with Inside Lake. PHOTOS: Courtesy of the Coursey family
Coursey’s parents, Jody and Mandy, owned a construction company in Tavares since 1970 and, along with her sister, Rebecca, have always supported Coursey in everything she does, she said.
“They were supportive of me, both personally and professionally throughout my life and without them I wouldn’t be where I am today. They helped me so much when I was a single mother, working and going to school- I’ve been fortunate to have had them in my corner. My sister Rebecca, has been my best friend since we were kids and is my biggest cheerleader in life.”
Coursey is engaged to be married next year and recently built a house with her fiancé. “Jason and his girls came into my life four years ago and they all mean the world to me, they are loving and supportive in every way. Our blended family just works.”
Coursey was a single mom for several years and has often remarked how her daughter Kaelyn changed her outlook on life. It was very important to Coursey for her daughter to be the one to pin her and take part in the ceremonial beginning to her next chapter.
“My daughter Kaelyn has truly changed me for the better- I look at the world through a different lens because of her. Knowing that she is watching, I make choices in life and decisions with her in mind…I always want to be the positive example she strives to be and the constant in her life that she is proud of,” Coursey said.
Coursey is looking forward to leading the agency “I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else, I have seen the city grow and change so much over my lifetime and now I’ve been given the distinct honor to lead the city that raised me.”
