Tavares

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department is searching for a suspect who shot two people Friday night at an apartment complex, killing one of them, TPD Det. Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake. TPD responded to a report of a shooting at Caroline Court Apartments, 1000 E. Caroline Street shortly after 8 p.m. The suspect fled the scene and had not been apprehended at press time. One person was killed and the second person was airlifted to a local hospital. The names of the victims are not being released pending notification of next of kin, Sullivan said. TPD detectives are asking anyone with

TAVARES, Florida—A homeless man was arrested Wednesday after he pulled a realistic-looking BB gun on lawn maintenance worker because his leaf blower was disturbing the man’s sleep. The worker called Tavares Police around 7:30 a.m. and said he got into a confrontation with two homeless subjects, one later identified as William Ray Turner, 35. Inside Lake is not naming the second subject because he was not charged with a crime. The victim said he was working on a property on Classique Lane when Turner and the second man confronted him. He said Turner pulled a pistol from his pants and

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department has released the names of the four restaurant employees accused of serving minors Friday night. TPD utilized three confidential informants for its undercover operation and each one used their actual state issued identification, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake. No fake IDs were used in the operation. One informant is 20 and will not turn 21 until close to the end of 2022 and the other two informants are under 18, according to a report. Around 7:30 p.m., the informants went to Dog House, 201 West Ruby Street and sat at the bar.

TAVARES, Florida—In an effort to deter a small uptick in minor juvenile crimes downtown, Tavares Police Department performed underage alcohol buys Friday and four of the eight establishments they tried to buy from sold alcohol to minors, according to TPD Lt. Sarah Coursey. “We were informed there were some issues downtown, so we acted quickly to try to prevent further problems like fights, DUIs and disturbances,” Coursey told Inside Lake. “One of our officers stopped a minor walking downtown with a beer just a few days ago.” Buster Tubbs, 110 South New Hampshire Avenue, Puddle Jumpers Lakeside Grill & Bar,

ORANGE COUNTY, Florida—A Tavares woman received minor injuries in a crash that killed a motorcyclist from Apopka Saturday night, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. A 19-year-old Apopka woman was northbound in a sedan on Orange Blossom Trail at Jones Avenue in the Zellwood area around 8:45 p.m. Saturday. A 51-year-old man, also of Apopka, was riding a motorcycle southbound on Orange Blossom Trail and a Tavares woman, 59, in a sedan was stopped on Jones Avenue at the intersection of Orange Blossom Trail, FHP Lt. Kim Montes said in a press release. The Apopka woman attempted to make a

TAVARES. Florida— A 20-year-old man suffered at least one gunshot wound during a drive-by shooting in Tavares late Saturday night. Joshua Williams II was outside of a home on West Maud Street when the shooting occurred, according to Tavares Police Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan. “Mr. Williams was transported to a local hospital and is being treated for his injuries that he sustained from the incident,” Sullivan said.   Police are investigating the motive behind the shooting and expect to release more information once it is available. If you have information on Saturday’s drive-by shooting, call TPD at 352-343-2101.

TAVARES, Florida—Britney Ochoa has a lot to be grateful for this holiday season. Last month, just before she was about to go to bed around 11 p.m., her mom’s instinct kicked in and she checked on her son Elias to find he was not breathing. Just 2 months old at the time, Elias had spent the beginning of his life in the hospital and mom had just recently brought him home. Ochoa, 22, called 9-1-1 and some might say Elias’ guardian angel appeared in the form of Tavares Police Officer Teddy Pearl. Pearl arrived on scene to find Ochoa performing

TAVARES, Florida—Following in line with its motto, “People helping people,” Tavares Police Department has launched a new initiative to get to know its community members with special needs. TPD announced Friday on its Facebook page, it is creating a database that will include details about individuals who may require a different response from officers and is asking for the public’s assistance to gather information and give the agency any ideas they feel will make the program better. If you have a family member or friend with special needs, such as autism, Alzheimer’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy or any other