TAVARES, Florida—Two men facing numerous charges for robbing three stores in Lake County have now been charged with robbing one more.
Dustin “Chico” Perdue, 27, of Tavares and Patrick “YG” Brown, 22, were arrested early Aug. 5 after an Astatula traffic stop led to evidence in a robbery of a Clermont gas station just 23 minutes before the stop.
They now stand accused of robbing Golden Ox Liquors 305 East Burleigh Boulevard, Tavares around 10 p.m. June 30. Perdue and Brown are accused of approaching the cash register, pointing guns at the victim and demanding money. The victim complied and the robbers grabbed an undisclosed amount of cash and tried to flee through the Golden Ox Bar that was filled with patrons. They realized their mistake and fled through the front door, according to a report.
Patrick Brown, left; Dustin Perdue PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Perdue and Brown have been charged in four robberies, including stores Clermont, Mount Dora, unincorporated Mount Dora and Tavares. They are being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond.
Perdue is also suspected of murdering Alejandro “Alex” Garcia at Caroline Court Apartments in Tavares on April 8.
MOUNT DORA, Florida—The duo accused of robbing a Clermont gas station last week are facing more charges in connection with robberies in the City of Mount Dora and unincorporated Mount Dora and Tavares Police say one of the men is a suspect in a murder.
Dustin “Chico” Perdue, 27, of Tavares and Patrick “YG” Brown, 22, were arrested early Aug. 5 after an Astatula traffic stop led to evidence in a robbery of a Clermont gas station just 23 minutes before the stop.
In that case, Perdue and Brown stand accused of pointing guns at a store clerk at Circle K, 190 U.S. Highway 27, Clermont, and demanding money just before 11 p.m. Aug. 3. The clerk opened two registers and the suspects stole cash and change, some of it rolled, totaling $134 according to an arrest affidavit.
The red Volkswagen Beetle they were riding in was pulled over for an equipment violation by Astatula Police Department and a gun was spotted in plain view. Upon searching the car, police found a second gun, clothes and rolled change consistent with the robbery. The pair were arrested and held in the Lake County Jail on $101,000 bond. Inside Lake is not naming the driver of the car because she has not been charged with a crime. She is cooperating with law enforcement, according to affidavits in the case.
On Tuesday, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office added an armed robbery to charge to the pair, stemming from a robbery in unincorporated Mount Dora Aug. 2. LCSO responded to Triangle Food Mart, 3865 North Highway 19A on a report of an armed robbery.
The victim told deputies two black males wearing masks, hoodies and gloves entered the store, brandished handguns and made threats. They took $200 worth of Newport cigarettes, $40 and one of the victim’s cell phones. They fled the store and got into a red Volkswagen Beetle.
Patrick Brown, left; Dustin Perdue PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Also on Tuesday, Mount Dora Police Department charged the pair in connection with a robbery in its city. According to that affidavit, on July 30, Perdue and Brown robbed Little Sammy’s, 446 North Highland Street. In that case, the pair is alleged to have entered the store armed with their faces covered and demanded money from the two clerks. They took cash from the registers and several cartons of Newport cigarettes and demanded the clerks open the safe. The clerks said they had no way to open the safe and one of the robbers jiggled the handle with his bare hand, according to the affidavit. MDPD collected DNA evidence from the handle and are awaiting results from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Both suspects saw one of the clerks attempt to push the panic button on his belt and they fled the store. As they ran out, one of them, later identified as Perdue, struck the victim across the face with his gun. The entire incident was captured on the store’s video surveillance system. One suspect was wearing a pair of black Nikes with red soles and the shoes were later tied to Brown.
In the case, Perdue and Brown are each facing an additional armed robbery charge and Perdue is also facing a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Detectives with MDPD, LCSO and Tavares Police Department interviewed the driver of the Beetle earlier this week and she admitted to being the driver in five armed robberies with Perdue and Brown—three in Tavares, in addition to both robberies in Mount Dora. She said she never profited from the crimes and was only the driver. She also gave detectives details about the crimes and identified Brown’s shoes, according to the affidavit. She is being treated as a witness at this time, but may be charged later, detectives told her.
Image of some of Dustin Perdue’s tattoos. PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Perdue soon may have a much more serious charge to face. TPD Lt. Sarah Coursey told Inside Lake he is a suspect in double shooting that killed a man in April. Alejandro “Alex” Garcia Jr., 29, was killed around 8 p.m. April 8 at Caroline Court Apartments, 1000 East Caroline Street. Another man was shot multiple times and survived his wounds.
Garcia’s murder was just two months after Perdue was released from state prison after serving nearly 10 years for burglary and theft charges.
Brown also recently served time in state prison; he was released just over three months ago after serving just under two years for burglary and grand theft charges out of Polk County. He was released after Garcia’s murder and is not a suspect.
Perdue and Brown are both being held in LCJ on no bond. If you have any information on Garcia’s murder or any of the robberies, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
DeLAND, Florida—The man accused of raping and killing a Mount Dora High School student in 2018 was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison Monday, according to 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza’s office.
Justis Marie Garrett, 16, was reported missing April 13, 2018, after she failed to return home from Mount Dora High School that day, according to a charging affidavit. Her mother’s boyfriend, Robert Nixon Kern Jr. told his girlfriend and police that he took Justis from her home in Sorrento and dropped the girl off at school, but she never made it to any classes. Five days later, on April 18, Garrett’s decomposed body was found partially clothed in a wooded area off Gasline Road in DeLand. Bleach was found on her remains and her clothes.
DeLand Police Department investigated and found that Kern never dropped Justis off at school and instead cell phone records showed Kern’s phone and Justis’ phone traveled directly from Justis’ home in Sorrento to the area of Gasline Road in DeLand, where her body was found. Records also revealed Kern’s phone went to the crime scene on April 16, 2018, and stayed there for more than an hour, according to the affidavit.
Robert Nixon Kern Jr. PHOTO: Volusia County Corrections
Numerous pieces of physical evidence, including clothing and vegetation also linked Kern to the teenager’s murder.
In February 2019, Kern was arrested on fraud charges in New York and was later confronted with the evidence against him in Justis’ murder and questioned about a fake Instagram account “redneck_retarded” that he used to communicate with Justis in a sexual and romantic manner, posing as an 18-year-old, the affidavit states. Kern admitted his phone and email address were used to create the account, but said he allowed a 15-year-old boy to use the phone. Internet history on Kern’s phone also showed he searched terms such as “kidnapped” and “what are the best drugs to make someone unconscious, in addition to sexually explicit websites.
Soon after, Kern invoked his right to an attorney and stopped the interview. He was booked into the Volusia County Jail May 24, 2019, where he was held on no bond.
The jury of eight women and four men took less than 30 minutes Monday to convict Kern of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“This was a complicated circumstantial case. The defendant raped and murdered a 16-year-old child and left her body in a remote wooded area. The prosecutors prevailed and today we got Justice for Justis,” Larizza said in a statement.
CLERMONT, Florida—Two men suspected in multiple armed robberies, who were both released from state prison this year, are behind bars on $101,000 bond, according to Lake County Jail online booking records.
Dustin “Chico” Perdue, 27, of Tavares and Patrick “YG” Brown Jr., 22, of Auburndale were arrested early Thursday morning following an armed robbery at Circle K, 190 U.S. Highway 27, Clermont just before 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to their arrest affidavits.
Two black males with their faces covered were wearing dark clothes and gloves when they entered the store near the corner East Grand Highway, pointed guns at the store clerk and demanded money. The clerk opened two registers and the suspects stole cash and change, some of it rolled, totaling $134 according to the affidavit.
The suspects, one tall and thin, the second shorter with a medium build, both pointed handguns at the clerk and one of them put a red bag on the counter that was used to collect the money, video surveillance shows. One of the suspects appeared to have a tan-colored hoodie on underneath his dark shirt, with the hoodie covering his head. The pair fled on foot and a K9 tracked the scent to a nearby business plaza and stopped, indicating the duo got into a vehicle and fled the scene, the affidavit states.
Perdue is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds; Brown is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds, according to LCJ online records.
Twenty-three minutes after the robbery, a vehicle was pulled over in Astatula for an equipment violation and Perdue and Brown were found in the vehicle, along with a female driver. Inside Lake is not naming the driver because she has not been charged with a crime. Twenty-three minutes is consistent with the amount of time it would take to drive from the robbery scene to the location of the traffic stop, a Clermont Police detective noted in the affidavit.
A handgun was spotted in plain view in the front passenger floorboard at Brown’s feet, along with a bag of marijuana in his lap, according to the affidavit.
Astatula Police searched the vehicle and found a red backpack that contained gloves, dark-colored pants, long sleeve shirts, a tan hoodie, loose and rolled change, in addition to a second handgun, according to the affidavit.
Brown and Perdue were placed under arrest for armed robbery, two counts of possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and petit theft. and transported to LCJ. The CPD detective asked both defendants be held on a “no bond” status, however each defendant’s bond is set at $101,000.
Sources have told Inside Lake the duo is suspected of multiple armed robberies and other crimes in several cities and LCSO’s jurisdiction. Inside Lake will be following these cases closely and will publish a follow-up if more charges are added.
Purdue was released from prison in February after serving nearly 10 years for a variety of burglary and grand theft charges; Brown was released from prison just over three months ago after serving just under two years for burglary and grand theft charges out of Polk County.
DeLAND, Florida—The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a single-vehicle crash that killed a DeLand man early Friday morning.
The 47-year-old man was driving an SUV westbound on County Road 42, near the Lake County-Volusia County line shortly before 2 a.m. when he left the roadway for unknown reason, FHP Lt. Channing Taylor said in a press release.
The SUV overturned and the man was pronounced dead on the scene. He was not wearing a seatbelt. The crash remains under investigation.
MOUNT DORA, Florida—A man captured on video stealing nearing $500 worth of items from a home improvement store couldn’t escape being identified by a social media sleuth on a Mount Dora Police Department Facebook post earlier this month.
On July 21, MDPD posted an “attempt to identify” on its Facebook page of two men accused of stealing tools from Lowe’s, 18795 U.S. Highway 441, Mount Dora on June 3. According to the post, a man with a long red beard was captured on video selecting a drill valued at $219 and tool set valued at $239, placing it into his cart and exiting the store without paying on June 3. He was accompanied by another man, but it is unclear if that man has been identified.
PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
According to a probable cause affidavit, the man was identified as Terry Wayne Cowart, 44, of Paisley, by a person who commented on the department’s Facebook post. MDPD officers provided a photo lineup to the store’s manager, and she identified Cowart as the culprit.
A warrant for retail theft was issued for Cowart’s arrest Monday and he was picked up in Paisley early Friday morning. Cowart was transported to the Lake County Jail, where his is being held on $2,000 bond.
CLERMONT, Florida—The crash that closed the eastbound lanes of Hammock Ridge Road for several hours Monday claimed the life of Clermont man, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A 2017 Mack box truck was disabled in the eastbound outside lane of Hammock Ridge Road shortly before 9:30 a.m. Monday with its hazard lights on and traffic warning triangle markers placed in the roadway, FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi said in a press release.
A 2003 Dodge Ram 1500, being driven by a 37-year-old Clermont man, was traveling in the same lane and attempted to switch lanes to avoid the disabled box truck, but the right front of the Ram struck the rear left of the box truck and the driver of the Ram was pronounced dead on the scene, Crescenzi said. He was not wearing a seatbelt.
The driver of the box truck, a 49-year-old Winter Haven man, was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.
ALTOONA, Florida—A man released from prison just three months ago is back behind bars after fleeing from a Lake County Sheriff’s Office detective in a stolen truck Tuesday, according to an arrest affidavit.
An LCSO detective went to a home on Lake King Road in Altoona Tuesday morning to interview Dennis James Imhoff, 36, about his involvement in a vehicle burglary. When the detective arrived, Imhoff was unloading items from a white Chevy truck, later determined to be stolen, the affidavit states.
The detective identified himself and Imhoff got in the truck and backed through the yard in a “reckless manner,” ran a stop sign at Rea Way and State Road 19 and then traveled to County Road 42. LCSO attempted to stop Imhoff, and he fled northbound on Big Oak Road.
The detective received information Imhoff entered a driveway on East Altoona Road, and he located the truck, covered with a tarp, behind the home. The detective then discovered the truck was stolen from Umatilla on Monday, the affidavit states.
LCSO canvassed the area from 10:50 a.m. until 2 p.m. Tuesday and failed to find Imhoff. Shortly after 3:30 p.m. LCSO received a call Imhoff was around County Road 42, and he was located by a K9 deputy and its handler. Imhoff was instructed to stop running and he failed to, and K9 Murphy was deployed and apprehended Imhoff.
Imhoff was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares for treatment of a dog bite and medically cleared, according to the affidavit. He was arrested for grand theft auto, fleeing and eluding and resisting without violence.
Imhoff is currently on probation and suspected in more than six grand theft auto cases in Marion County and Volusia County. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond.
EUSTIS, Florida—A Eustis man is facing 10 serious charges after the Lake County Sheriff’s Office found numerous homemade bombs in his home in Royal Trails in unincorporated Lake County Saturday.
On Friday, LCSO received a tip from a witness who said Markus Fricke, 55, had built several devices recently with the intent of “blowing up the residence” and was waiting for a shipment of chemicals to finish, according to an arrest affidavit.
The witness saw a shipment arrive marked “Ammonium Nitrate” weighing about 50 pounds; The shipment, along with statements made by Fricke scared the witness and she fled the home at 30927 Tulip Avenue and called law enforcement.
Ammonium Nitrate, a fertilizer, was one of the main components used in the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing.
Ammonium Nitrate found in Markus Fricke’s home. PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
The witness met with LCSO and said Fricke had been making bombs and booby traps and he was planning to blow the entire street up, including himself and his home. She drew deputies a map showing where Fricke kept chemicals and devices, the affidavit states..
Fricke, who has “an extensive history of unusual and concerning behavior” believes people live in his attic and trespass on his lawn, and law enforcement has responded to his home numerous times in the last few years.
While LCSO was interviewing the witness, Fricke left his home, and he was stopped by deputies who found a homemade device on his floorboard. The device, a metal tube with a 12-gauge shotgun shell, was designed to trigger via spring tension activated by a trip wire. The device was later determined to be a destructive device by the LCSO Hazardous Device Team.
Markus Fricke PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Fricke was Baker Acted and LCSO secured a search warrant for his home and due to the witness advising the home may be booby-trapped, the LCSO HDT utilized a robot to make entry. Four destructive devices were found, and all designed to activate by a tripwire. A fuel bomb that was fashioned to act as a flammable grenade was also found.
A lot of fuel, materials, and tools were discovered in addition to “copious amounts” of firearms, including a short-barreled shotgun and ammunition,” and a “significant amount” of anti-Semitic literature, the affidavit states. It is unknown if Fricke had a specific target.
An explosive device found in Markus Fricke’s home. PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Neighbors spoke with LCSO and said they heard and saw Fricke detonate devices on his property, one explosion so violent last week, it shook the neighbor’s home.
Fricke was arrested Monday, following his Baker Act. He is facing six counts of making or possessing a destructive device, one count of threat to discharge a destructive device, carrying a concealed firearm and possession of a short-barreled shotgun. He is being held in LCJ on no bond.
An explosive device made from an aerosol can found in Markus Fricke’s home. PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
TAVARES, Florida—A man already in the Lake County Jail for moving a man’s body and covering it with a sheet and couch cushions has been charged in his death, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Jesse “Cracker” Franklin Hill, 42, was arrested May 27 on a charge of tampering with evidence and is now facing a manslaughter charge, in the death of his roommate, Ernie Wayne Wilburn, 44, in Altoona in May.
On May 4, Hill made two “cryptic” emergency calls to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and deputies responded to 19331 East Altoona Road and found Wilburn covered in a sheet with cushions stacked on top of him and a puncture wound in his left rib area, according to the affidavit. LCSO also found a bloodstain indicating he was moved.
When LCSO read a search warrant for the property aloud, Hill reportedly asked if a specific area to the west side of the house was included, and he was informed it was; a Ruger .22 high-velocity air rifle was found in the same area.
An autopsy of Wilburn later found a .22 caliber pellet-style projectile in his lung, along with a significant blood clot in his chest cavity that indicated Wilburn “suffered for a significant time prior to his death,” the affidavit states.
Hill fled the residence during the investigation, according to the affidavit, later telling multiple sources he was “on the run” and “wanted for murder.”
LCSO caught up to Hill at a home in Eustis May 27 and he was arrested for tampering with evidence. He was held at the Lake County Jail on no bond until he was charged with manslaughter Friday; he is still being held on no bond on both charges.
A witness told LCSO Hill shot Wilburn with the air rifle because he was annoyed with him. The witness said Wilburn was outside a window yelling because he did not have a key and Hill shot him through the window. Hill told witnesses he did not believe the pellet gun would kill Wilburn, he just wanted him to go away.
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