LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—At press time Christmas Eve, the jolly fellow best known as Santa Claus was last spotted in Greenland and had delivered more than 5 billion gifts, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD.)
Little boys and girls (who should be in bed) can track the big guy’s movements online as he makes his way across the world with his trusty reindeer crew, by visiting NORAD Tracks Santa.
NORAD began tracking Santa in 1958 after taking over the duty from the U.S. Air Force.
TAVARES, Fla.—Tavares Police Department has identified the man killed on U.S. Highway 441 Friday night.
According to witnesses and TPD’s preliminary investigation, around 8 p.m., Renald Guay, 67, of New Hampshire, was standing in the median of U.S. Highway 441, also known as Burleigh Boulevard, near Lake Eustis Drive, when he began to jaywalk across the highway, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan said.
He was struck by a white 2014 Lincoln SUV traveling in a southbound lane and being driven by Merle Somers, 50, of Tavares. Somers and her passenger were not injured. “The vehicle occupants remained on scene and cooperated with investigators,” Sullivan told Inside Lake.
Guay was transported to a local hospital, where he later died. The crash closed the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 441/Burleigh Boulevard for several hours.
TAVARES, Fla.—Tavares Police Department is investigating a crash that killed a pedestrian and the southbound lanes of Burleigh Boulevard also known as U.S. Highway 441 are closed.
A male was struck near the intersection of Lake Eustis Drive and Burleigh Boulevard around 8 p.m. Friday and was transported to a local hospital, where he later died, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake.
Details about how the crash occurred were not available at press time and the man has not been publicly identified.
All southbound lanes of Burleigh Boulevard are closed, and officers are re-routing traffic through turn lanes, Sullivan said. Motorists are being asked to avoid the area while TPD completes its investigation.
EUSTIS, Fla.—The missing kayaker authorities were searching for on Lake Eustis has been found alive, according to Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri.
“His kayak capsized and the (Lake County Sheriff’s Office) Marine Unit found him floating in the middle of the lake,” Capri told Inside Lake. LCSO’s helicopter, Eagle One, also searched for the man, along with Eustis Fire Department.
EUSTIS, Fla.—Authorities are searching for a missing kayaker on Lake Eustis.
The man, who was not publicly identified, was last seen Thursday afternoon when he launched the kayak from his home on Lake Eustis, according to Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri. Eustis Fire Department is searching the water with its boat, along with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit and LCSO’s helicopter, Eagle One. Residents near the lake are being asked to look around their property for any sign of the man and call 911 if they find anything.
TAVARES, Fla.—Not even a month on the job and Tavares Police Department’s K9 Bruce has his first trafficking arrest under his collar.
Around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, a TPD road patrol officer was patrolling the area of Burleigh Boulevard (U.S. Highway 441) and Sinclair Avenue when she spotted a black Dodge Challenger and ran a check on the license plate, according to an arrest affidavit.
The license plate came back invalid, and not assigned to a vehicle, giving the officer probable cause for a traffic stop. The officer stopped the car and found the driver, Larry Wallace Taylor, 48, of Apopka, “extremely upset” about the traffic stop,” the arresting officer noted in the affidavit.
Taylor repeatedly told the officer she was incorrect about the tag, and he could provide the paperwork to prove it, but he failed to do so, and also claimed he could not find his wallet. He informed the officer a firearm was in the car and believed his wallet was near the gun and allowed a second officer to safely remove it from the car. Taylor still could not find his wallet and was shaking and “sweating profusely,” even though it was 51 degrees outside, the arresting officer noted.
As Taylor continued to look for his wallet, he told the officer he was nervous, and the officer requested to search the car. He denied her request and as he moved around the car, the officer saw his wallet underneath him and he finally provided his license, according to the affidavit.
Newly-hired K9 Bruce arrived on scene with his handler and performed an exterior sniff of the car. K9 Bruce alerted and upon searching the interior of the car, officers found a “tooter,” a small tube commonly used to snort narcotics, and two bags, one that contained a crystalline rock-like substance and the second, which contained a crystalline substance and a white powder.
PHOTO: Tavares Police Department
The arresting officer tested the rock-like substance that weighed more than 11 grams and it field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Taylor was transported to the Lake County Jail and on the ride to jail, he made a “spontaneous utterance” the drugs were not just methamphetamine. Officers tested both bags at LCJ and they both tested positive for fentanyl, according to the affidavit.
Taylor was arrested for trafficking in fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine and possession of paraphernalia; he was released on $28,000 bond.
TAVARES, Fla.—Tavares Police Department is searching for a “missing and endangered” teenager who was last seen Wednesday night.
Lindsey Carpenter, 14, was seen leaving her home in the Etowah subdivision off Ann Rou Road around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday; TPD believes she may have gotten in a maroon SUV, possibly a Chevy Tahoe. Carpenter is considered “missing and endangered” due to pre-existing medical conditions and she does not have her medication.
Carpenter is described at a white female, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 150 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a camouflage shirt, light-colored pants and carrying a grey backpack.
If you have information on Carpenter’s whereabouts, call TPD at 352-343-2101, extension 4.
TAVARES, Fla.—Tavares Police Department is investigating after receiving multiple calls about five to six shots being fired around 9 p.m. Friday in a condominium complex that has been the site of several shootings in the past, the latest one just four days ago.
TPD responded to Rosewood Condominiums but did not find any victims or shell casings Friday night, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake.
Just four days ago, shots were fired in Rosewood Condominiums as schoolchildren were arriving at home on the bus around 3:30 p.m. Monday.
TPD investigates after multiple shots were Monday afternoon as schoolchildren were arriving home on the bus. FILE PHOTO
A short time after Monday’s shooting, a victim with a gunshot wound arrived at AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares. The victim said he was shot in Mount Dora, but no evidence of a shooting was found in Mount Dora, City of Mount Dora Public Information Officer Misty Sommer said Monday. The case is still under investigation, Sullivan said.
If you have information on either incident, call TPD at 352-343-2101, extension 4; or call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Crimeline callers can remain anonymous.
EUSTIS, Fla.—An event to benefit a Lake County Sheriff’s Office school resource deputy who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year is scheduled for Saturday.
What started as chest pain in 2022 turned into a terrifying diagnosis last summer for LCSO Cpl. Adam Tytler. In November 2022, Tytler went to a cardiologist for ongoing chest pain, and after a EKG showed his heart was in good shape, the cardiologist told him the pain was likely gastrointestinal. The next month, on Christmas Eve, Tytler discovered a swollen lymph node on his neck and by February the lymph node had not gotten any better. He was also suffering from a sinus infection at the time and went to his primary care doctor for treatment and mentioned the lymph node. The doctor chalked it up to the infection, but during the spring Tytler’s chest pain continued and had also moved to his back, and then he began to find swollen lymph nodes on his chest.
Tytler went through a battery of tests and upon reviewing the results, his doctor said it was likely cancer. Tytler sought a second opinion from the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and his fears were confirmed when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma in June 2023.
Tytler, his wife Tiffany, and two daughters, Shay 17, Lily, 14, are currently splitting their time between Mount Dora and Tampa for treatment and it is taking a financial toll on the family while already dealing with an emotional roller coaster. Tytler said he came forward with his struggle because cancer affects millions of people and often they go through it alone.
“I would have given up if it weren’t for my faith, my family and the support from the school resource deputy unit,” Tytler said. “I only wanted for those who are struggling to know they are not alone. Not now. Not ever and to never give up.”
Tytler’s struggle inspired Shannon Cook, organizer of Lake County’s annual Back the Blue Walk, and LCSO Lt. Kristin Thompson to create the benefit scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at That Place, 925 North Bay Street, Eustis.
Dinners will be available for purchase, along with an auction of numerous items, including a Back the Blue basket with items from multiple Lake County law enforcement agencies, tickets to various events, like New Kids on the Block concert tickets and Richard Petty Driving Experience, along with a Yeti cooler packed with alcohol, various craft items made by local residents, a high-end fishing pole and numerous other items. A poker scramble is also scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at Gator Harley-Davidson, 1745 U.S. Highway 441, Leesburg, and will include five stops, ending at That Place, Cook told Inside Lake.
Tytler has spent nearly his entire adult life at LCSO, and most recently worked as a corporal in the school resource deputy unit. He prevented a shooting on the Eustis High School campus during the 2018-2019 school year and was awarded the Lake County Officer of the Year in 2019 for his efforts.
He said he is excited he has only one treatment left, and it has been a difficult journey. “Truthfully, it’s been challenging and difficult treatment-wise, not just for me but my family also,” Tytler said.
He will have to wait until after the new year to find out if he is cancer-free, he said.
Tytler told Inside Lake saying thank you to all those who have helped him, and contributed to the benefit will never be enough.
“My family and I are so appreciative and overwhelmed of the outpouring of love and support from everyone. Especially from people I’ve never met,” he said.
TAVARES, Fla.—In an unexpected twist Monday, a Leesburg man accused of gunning down his girlfriend last year pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon the same day jury selection for his trial was set to begin.
Alphonza Bryant, 41, was sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing Melissa Keonna Smith, 37, in the laundry room of her Leesburg home on Aug. 8, 2022.
Bryant was captured on video approaching Smith’s home, brandishing a firearm, and “engaging in a verbal altercation off-camera that culminated in a single gunshot,” Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney William “Bill” Gladson’s office stated in a press release.
A witness told Leesburg Police Department Bryant tried to force his way in the laundry room while armed and the witness was, “compelled to leave the scene.” Bryant fired a single shot, killing Smith, fled the scene and dropped a gun.
Bryant was arrested two days after the murder for a violation of probation in a prior case and later charged with Smith’s murder after an “exhaustive investigation by Leesburg Police Department.”
“We hope these charges allow for some level of healing and relief for the family and friends of Ms. Smith,” LPD Capt. Joe Iozzi said after Bryant’s arrest last year. “We would especially like to thank our community for their assistance with this investigation.”
Bryant is currently in the Lake County Jail and will remain there until he is transferred to the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections.
“Eyewitness testimony serves as a crucial pillar in prosecuting any case, let alone a murder case. Bryant knew the evidence stacked against him would weave the narrative of truth for jurors to convict him,” Gladson said in a statement. “Acknowledging this grim reality, we are pleased the defendant was sentenced to 45 years in prison. We hope this helps to bring closure to the tragic loss suffered by Melissa Keonna Smith’s family.”
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