ASTOR, Florida—In an effort to monitor and manage the flooding caused by Hurricane Ian along the St. Johns River in Astor, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with the Lake County Office of Emergency Management to set up a unified command center and has closed the area to non-residents, according to an LCSO press release.
The areas adjacent to the St. Johns River are still being accessed and at press time, the following areas were impacted the most:
Several roads are underwater, LCSO Lt. John Herrell said, and more flooding is likely in the coming days. Residents who must travel in these areas are asked to drive slowly to avoid pushing more water in homes and yards and LCSO is asking people to stay off the water in that area for the same reasons, Herrell said. LCSO will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.
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/
EUSTIS, Florida—A head-on collision killed an unborn baby late Tuesday night, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A 19-year-old Leesburg woman was westbound in a 2007 Cadillac DTS on County Road 44 near Sparrow Lane around 10: 45 p.m. Tuesday when a 2017 Ford Transit van traveling eastbound entered her lane. The van, being driven by a 34-year-old Eustis man, struck the left front of the Cadillac, causing critical injuries to the teenage driver, who was 30 weeks pregnant.
The unborn child did not survive.
The woman was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment and the driver of the van was not injured; he remained on scene, according to FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi. Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts.
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.
CLERMONT, Florida—A 28-year-old Orlando man was killed earlier this month after he crashed vehicle on County Road 455 and walked across several lanes of Florida’s Turnpike, where he was struck by an SUV.
According to Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tara Crescenzi, the man, whose name is not being released due to Marsy’s Law, crashed his 2015 Acura into an embankment on County Road 455. He exited the vehicle and walked across the southbound lanes of Florida’s Turnpike, crossed the concrete median and entered the northbound inside lane near mile marker 276, where he was struck by a 2020 Kia Soul around 9:45 p.m. on Sept. 8.
The driver of the Kia, a 24-year-old Gainesville woman, was not injured. She remained on the scene and the man was pronounced deceased on the scene.
8 a.m. Update: One northbound lane of U.S. Highway 27 is shut down; the remaining lanes are open.
CLERMONT, Florida— At least one barricaded subject in an RV has shut down U.S. Highway 27 in both directions early Wednesday morning.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to pull over an RV stolen out of Flagler County and had to utilize stop sticks on U.S. Highway 27 near Lake Louisa State Park, according to LCSO Lt. Fred Jones. After the RV stopped the blinds were closed and it is unknown how many occupants are in the vehicle.
CLERMONT, Florida—The name of the man killed in an armed confrontation with deputies Sunday has been released.
James Edward Vought, 49, died Sunday after confronting a Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy armed with a rifle, according to LCSO Lt. John Herrell. LCSO responded to 10630 Reagans Run Drive, Clermont just after 5 p.m. Sunday on a report of a suicidal man armed with a rifle. A deputy encountered Vought and during the confrontation, the man was fatally shot by the deputy, Herrell said.
The shooting is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and deputy has been placed on administrative leave, standard procedure in a deputy-involved shooting.
James Vought was arrested last month for aggravated battery after a video showed him charging someone with a knife and kicking them. PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Vought was arrested in August for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after being accused of charging someone with a knife, according to an arrest affidavit. Vought was at a home on Kipling Court in Clermont when he apparently got upset about something. He took a knife from behind his back and charged the victim with it and began kicking him, and it was captured on video.
Another man came to the victim’s defense and all three fell to the ground and Vought was struck multiple times in the face. Vought was taken into custody and after he was medically cleared, he was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was released on $2,000 bond.
LADY LAKE, Florida—A 40-year-old woman was killed, and a 31-year-old man was seriously injured when a vehicle, possibly a Jeep Cherokee, struck the pair while they were walking northbound on Rolling Acres Road, south of West Lakeview Street just after 9:45 p.m. Sunday, according to Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tara Crescenzi.
The pair, both of Leesburg, were walking on the grass shoulder of Rolling Acres Road, when the vehicle ran of the road and struck them, Crescenzi said in a press release. The vehicle fled the scene.
The woman was pronounced dead, and the man was airlifted to Ocala Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. FHP traffic homicide investigators found vehicle parts on the scene and believe they may be from a 2014 to 2018 Jeep Cherokee. The vehicle should be missing a passenger side mirror and have right front headlight damage, Crescenzi said.
If you have information about this crash, call FHP at 407-737-2213 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
CLERMONT, Florida—A man is dead following an armed confrontation with a Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy Sunday afternoon, according to LCSO Lt. John Herrell.
LCSO responded to 10630 Reagans Run Drive, Clermont just after 5 p.m. on a report of a suicidal man armed with a rifle. A deputy encountered the 49-year-old man and during the confrontation, the man was fatally shot by the deputy, Herrell said.
The man’s name is not being released at this time.
The shooting is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and deputy has been placed on administrative leave, standard procedure in a deputy-involved shooting.