Tavares

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department is investigating the death of a woman it is calling suspicious. TPD responded to a medical call in the 1000 block of Maplewood Street around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, along with Lake EMS, and less than 10 minutes later Danielle DeCurtis, 29, was pronounced deceased at the scene, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake. “(Her death) appears to be suspicious in nature,” Sullivan said. Detectives responded to the scene and secured a search warrant and were awaiting the Medical Examiner’s Office at press time. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office CSI also responded to the

TAVARES, Florida—A man accused of breaking his neighbor’s window and causing chaos in a convenience store Tuesday morning is in the Lake County Jail being held on $2,000 bond. A neighbor of Damon Hamilton Fish, 45, told Tavares Police Department before sunrise Tuesday that Fish was outside of his own home on Willow Court throwing a large trash can at his windows. Fish then walked into her yard and threw a bar of soap in a “sack” through her 14-year-old daughter’s bedroom window, causing $1,000 in damage, she told TPD. Fish left and apparently went to Circle K, 439 South

TAVARES, Florida—The general manager of a Tavares sub shop is in the Lake County Jail accused of stealing cash from an elderly customer’s purse, she mistakenly left behind. Tavares Police Department responded to Jimmy John’s, 458 East Burleigh Boulevard shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday on a report of a missing purse, according to an arrest affidavit. The victim told TPD she stopped in the restaurant on her way home at approximately 7 p.m. Friday and when she arrived home, she realized she had left her purse at the restaurant. She called Jimmy John’s and was told the purse would be

TAVARES, Florida—An allegation of poor living conditions to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) led to the arrest of a Tavares woman last week, according to an arrest affidavit. Tavares Police responded to a home on Hunterwood Lane in reference to a DCF call alleging poor living conditions, including animal feces and a roach infestation on Jan. 14. As the arresting officer approached the home, she could “smell the strong odor of rotten meat and cat urine emitting through the closed garage door,” the arresting officer noted in the affidavit. Melody Anne Sargent, 45, met DCF and TPD at

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

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

TAVARES, Florida—A little over two weeks into the new school year and a Tavares High School student has been arrested for threatening to shoot up the school, according to an arrest affidavit. The Tavares High School principal alerted the school’s resource deputy to a screenshot of a school computer which stated, “I am going to shoot up the school Monday,” allegedly written by James Ray Sabb, 17. A student found the message and reported it to a teacher and a second teacher verified Sabb was sitting at the computer. Sabb was arrested for written threats to kill and turned over

TAVARES, Florida—A 21-year-old woman apparently upset that an elderly man asked her if she was done with gym equipment was arrested on a warrant for smacking the man in the face with a shoe in June, according to a probable cause affidavit. On June 28, Tavares Police responded to a report of a fight at the YMCA, 1465 David Walker Drive.  When an officer arrived, the victim, 75, and two employees told him a woman identified as Claudia Elena Sanchez-Olavarrieta hit the man in the face with her shoe. Sanchez-Olavarrieta had already left the scene, according to the affidavit. The

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department is investigating a home invasion and shooting that occurred early Tuesday morning. The 39-year-old male victim was alone at his home in the 1300 block of Alfred Street around midnight Tuesday when two men kicked in his door, according to TPD Lt. Jon Hall. Two shots were fired by the suspects, described only as black males, and at least one struck the victim, Hall told Inside Lake. The man was transported to a local hospital where he remains with non-life-threatening injuries. It is still a very active investigation, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office CSI was

TAVARES, Florida—A California man is being held on just $16,500 bond after his friend went to Tavares Police Department covered in blood Saturday morning, with her eye swollen shut and asked for help after he allegedly stabbed and beat her. The victim, who appeared to have multiple stab wounds on her chest and shoulders, told TPD her friend, Oren Derell Warren, 57, of Sacramento, Calif., beat and stabbed her at her home in Tavares. She said Warren began arguing with her early Saturday morning over borrowing her car and he repeatedly choked her, kicked her and punched her, but she

TAVARES, Florida—A Tavares man is being held in the Lake County Jail on $10,000 bond for biting part of a man’s finger off Sunday and admitting it to Tavares Police. Shortly before 4: 30 p.m., TPD was notified that a man’s finger was bitten off at Summerall Park, 1001 Wells Avenue, Tavares and the victim was being treated at AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares, according to an arrest affidavit. TPD responded to the hospital and the victim said while he was at the park, Daniel Jermaine Campbell, 37, approached him and asked if he knew where someone was. The victim said

TAVARES, Florida—Parachutes are scheduled to decorate the sky over Lake Dora when the Phantom Airborne Brigade presents its Phantom Family Day Water Jump Saturday at Tavares’ Wooton Park. The first drop is scheduled for 10 a.m. with additional paratroopers jumping every 20 minutes. Four flights are scheduled with a total of eight passes and each pass will include 10 paratroopers jumping simultaneously, according to City of Tavares Director of Public Communications and Emergency Management Mark O’Keefe. The aircraft, Tico Belle, is a WWII C-47 Skytrain and dropped paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne into Normandy on D-Day, Operation Market Garden in

UPDATE: This story now contains Stone’s mugshot that was released after press time. TAVARES, Florida—A Lake County Sheriff’s Office sergeant has been arrested for solicitation of prostitution after an investigation found he paid someone for sex for 8 months, with one encounter allegedly occurring on duty. Sgt. Scott Stone, a 17-year veteran of LCSO turned himself in to the Lake County Jail on the warrant, LCSO Lt. John Herrell said in a press release. In March, LCSO received “vague information from a citizen who advised there was a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office who was possibly paying for sex,” Herrell

TAVARES, Florida—There will be a new police chief in town Aug. 31. Tavares Police Lt. Sarah Coursey has been appointed as the new chief by City Administrator John Drury and will succeed current Chief Stoney Lubins when he retires Aug. 31 after 30 years at TPD and 21 years as chief. “Over the past 21 years, under the leadership of Chief Lubins, TPD has continued to aggressively fight crime, innovate with new technology, and further increase transparency with our community,” Drury said in a press release. “It’s been an honor to work together with Chief Lubins to protect and serve

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department is investigating an armed robbery that occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday night, TPD Lt. Sarah Coursey told Inside Lake. TPD patrol officers responded to Sun Foods, 1165 East Alfred Street after a customer reported the robbery, according to a report. Two black males, with their faces covered, entered the store and demanded money from the clerk, the witness said. The robbers took an undisclosed amount of money from the register and one of the males fired a shot, hitting some canned sodas, and they fled the scene on foot, Coursey said. A TPD detective responded,

TAVARES, Florida—A body has been found by first responders who were searching for a man who was spotted jumping off Dead River Bridge Wednesday afternoon. The man had not been identified at press time. When he is identified, police must notify next of kin before releasing the man’s name. A witness called Tavares Police Department shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday and reported seeing a man jump from Dead River Bridge and Tavares Police quickly responded and asked for assistance from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, Lt. Sarah Coursey told Inside Lake. A pair of shoes was found in

TAVARES, Florida—A call about a reckless golf cart driver landed a Tavares man in jail, for DUI Friday night after he ran from police and admitted he had been drinking wine all night and was drunk, according to an arrest affidavit. Tavares Police responded to the downtown area around 9:15 p.m. Friday on a report of a man driving a golf cart who almost struck a pedestrian. The complainant stated the man was possibly drunk and possibly being aggressive with people. The man, later identified as Robert William Lodsin, 51, was pulling out of a parking lot as TPD arrived

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department in investigating a crash that resulted in the death of one person Tuesday morning, according to TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan. The crash occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of Dora Avenue and David Walker Drive and closed the intersection and a portion of Dora Avenue. At press time, the road had been closed for more than two hours. One person was killed and TPD is not releasing the person’s identity, pending notification of next of kin, Sullivan said. This is a developing story.