Inside Scoop

1.5 million Doses of Fentanyl Seized During Drug Operation in Lake and Volusia Counties

LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA— A multi-agency investigation culminated in the arrest of more than three dozen people from Lake and Volusia counties last week —and only Inside Lake covered the first arrest of the main target in April.

“Operation Daly Dose” targeted the Drew Daly drug trafficking organization that was responsible for distributing multiple kilos of the deadly drug fentanyl in both Lake and Volusia counties, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Tuesday, alongside Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell.

Chitwood said the organization was distributing six to eight kilos of fentanyl across both counties each month since at least August 2022. More than 2,300 grams—1.5 million doses— of fentanyl were seized, along with 53 grams of black tar heroin, 138 grams of cocaine, 423 grams of methamphetamine, 43 grams of MDMA, 180 opioid pills, 11 firearms and more than $100,000 in cash and assets.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, center, stands with Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell at a press conference Tuesday. PHOTO: Volusia Sheriff’s Office

Around two dozen defendants were taken into custody last week after nine search warrants were executed across DeLand and Orange City last week. Charges include but are not limited to armed trafficking in fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA. One “stash house” had drugs hidden in trees so they would not be found inside the house if the house was hit with a search warrant, Chitwood said.

Daly, 29, of Paisley, is facing multiple charges, along with his girlfriend Lauren Toce, who was charged with child neglect in 2020 after a child in her care suffered a drug overdose. While incarcerated for a violation of probation in that case, Toce conspired with Daly and his brother Patrick Daly to attempt to smuggle cocaine and Xanax into the Volusia County Branch Jail; their efforts were intercepted.

VSO SWAT serves a search warrant during “Operation Daly Dose.” PHOTO: VSO

In April, only Inside Lake reported Drew Daly’s first arrest in Lake County after he was found with 144 grams of fentanyl on a traffic stop in the DeLand area of Lake County. He was arrested for trafficking in the deadly drug and released a few days later on $100,000 bond. He was arrested again Thursday on a slew of charges and is now being held on more than $3 million bond.

“The agencies you see represented up here today are going to continue to attack this problem from an enforcement level,” Grinnell said. “But we need our parents and grandparents out there to talk to their kids and their grandkids about the dangers of this fentanyl.”

Drugs found during a search warrant. PHOTO: VSO

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1.5 million Doses of Fentanyl Seized During Drug Operation in Lake and Volusia Counties Read More »

Leesburg Man Arrested After Leaving Infant in Hot Car at Tavares Grocery Store

TAVARES, Florida—A man who told police he left an infant in the car because he did not want the rain to get her wet, was arrested for child neglect after Tavares Fire Department rescued the baby from a car with only the windows cracked open.

A man told Tavares Police Department he arrived at Publix, 2101 State Road 19, Tavares around 5:30 p.m. Sunday and parked next to a small, white car with the windows cracked open and noticed a baby in the car. He flagged down an employee who was gathering carts and she called 9-1-1, according to an arrest affidavit.

TFD and TPD arrived on the scene and found the baby in a rear-facing car seat behind the driver’s seat and TFD forced a window down and rescued the baby girl. Her exact age was not listed in the affidavit.

“The infant was visibly sweating and appeared clammy,” the arresting officer noted in the affidavit. “The infant also had labored breathing.”

TPD contacted a manager who made an announcement for the registered owner, Keita Jones, to come to customer service; Jones ran up shortly after the announcement and said he owned the vehicle and the baby was inside, the affidavit states.

Jones told police he was shopping for an Instacart order, and he did want to get the baby wet because it was raining; he said he left her in the car with the windows slightly down and he did not think he had been in the store very long. Surveillance video later showed the infant was in the car from 5:21 p.m. to 6:06 p.m. – 45 minutes.

TFD used a device to determine the temperature of the car seat and found it was between 100 and 105 degrees. Jones, 27, was arrested for child neglect and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was released on $2,000 bond.

Leesburg Man Arrested After Leaving Infant in Hot Car at Tavares Grocery Store Read More »

2 Tavares Police Officers Suffer Minor Injuries Saturday while Taking Woman into Custody

TAVARES, Florida—A woman armed with a knife who barricaded herself in a home Saturday morning is receiving treatment at a local mental health facility, according to Tavares Police Department.

Around 9:20 a.m. Saturday, TPD received a 9-1-1 call reporting a woman was experiencing a mental health crisis, according to TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan. Officers responded to the 1000 block of Magnolia Circle and found the woman barricaded in a bedroom, armed with a knife and a Lake County Sheriff’s Office hostage negotiator responded to the scene to assist with the incident. Two TPD officers suffered superficial cuts to their hands while securing the woman and were treated on the scene.

“Officers were able to safely secure the female following less lethal action while the female remained armed,” Sullivan said in an email. The woman was treated on the scene by Tavares Fire Department and Lake EMS and later transported to a mental health facility. Officers were still on the scene at press time

2 Tavares Police Officers Suffer Minor Injuries Saturday while Taking Woman into Custody Read More »

Pickup Truck Hits Tractor-Trailer and Asphalt Truck Head-on Friday Morning, Killing 3 Mascotte Residents

CLERMONT, Florida—Three Mascotte residents were killed early Friday morning after the pickup truck they were in struck a tractor-trailer and an asphalt truck head-on, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A 21-year-old woman was driving a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado southbound on State Road 33 near Bakers Lane shortly after 5:30 a.m., when it entered the northbound lane and struck a 1999 Freightliner tractor-trailer head-on, causing the tractor-trailer to run off the road and overturn on its right side, FHP Trooper Migdalisis Garcia said.

The Silverado continued to travel in the northbound lane and struck a 2018 Kenworth asphalt truck head-on, causing the asphalt truck to leave the roadway, collide with trees and overturn on its right side.   

The driver of the Silverado and her passengers, a 50-year-old woman and a 59-year-old man, all of Mascotte, were pronounced deceased on the scene. None of the occupants of the Silverado were wearing a seatbelt, according to Garcia.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 57-year- Kissimmee man and the driver of the asphalt truck, a 53-year-old man of Wimauma, Illinois suffered minor injuries and were transported to Orlando Health South Lake Hospital in Clermont. Lake County Fire Rescue and Groveland Fire Department also responded to the scene.

The crash remains under investigation.

Pickup Truck Hits Tractor-Trailer and Asphalt Truck Head-on Friday Morning, Killing 3 Mascotte Residents Read More »

SR 33 Crash Kills 3 Early Friday Morning

CLERMONT, Florida—The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that killed three people early Friday morning.

The crash occurred at 5:36 a.m. at State Road 33 and Bakers Lane in unincorporated Clermont and involved an overturned asphalt truck; Lake County Fire Rescue has confirmed three fatalities on the scene, according to FHP Trooper Migdalisis Garcia.

“There is currently roadblock in the area,” Garcia said in an email.

This is a developing story.

SR 33 Crash Kills 3 Early Friday Morning Read More »

Fiery 2-Car Crash Critically Injures Teen and Elderly Woman  

TAVARES, Florida—Two people are in critical, but stable condition following a wreck that shut down U.S. Highway 441 for more than four hours Wednesday.

Just before 2:10 p.m. Tavares Police Department responded to multiple 9-1-1 calls reporting a crash near AdventHealth Waterman. The preliminary investigation revealed Carol Murphy, 77, was driving a silver 2013 Hyundai southbound on U.S. Highway 441 when she turned left on Waterman Way and was struck by a silver 2014 Ford Mustang being driven by a 17-year-old male who was traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 441, according to TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan.

The front of the Mustang struck the front side of the Hyundai, causing the Hyundai to rotate and the Mustang to go airborne, hit a SECO electrical box and overturn; the Mustang became engulfed in flames. Both drivers were transported to a local trauma center in critical condition, but are now stable, Sullivan said.

SECO, the Florida Department of Transportation, Lake EMS and multiple fire departments responded to the scene, along with TPD traffic homicide investigators.

In the last two weeks, just one TPD road patrol shift has written 63 traffic citations to educate drivers and battle careless driving, Sullivan said.

Fiery 2-Car Crash Critically Injures Teen and Elderly Woman   Read More »

Tavares Police Awaiting Toxicology Tests in Suspicious Death of Woman Last Week

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department continues to investigate the death of a woman found by her roommate last week.

Danielle DeCurtis, 29, was found unresponsive by her roommate around 10:15 a.m. May 31 and pronounced deceased at the scene by Lake EMS about 10 minutes after they responded to the call in 1000 block of Maplewood Street, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake.

Danielle DeCurtis PHOTO: Facebook/Danielle DeCurtis

TPD responded to the scene after road patrol deemed the death suspicious and began investigating. Lake County Sheriff’s Office CSI responded to the scene to assist in the investigation, along with the Medical Examiner’s office.

“There were no obvious signs of trauma to DeCurtis and we are awaiting the results of toxicology tests,” Sullivan told Inside Lake Wednesday.  

A photo posted on social media by DeCurtis’ boyfriend hours after her death caused concern and detectives confirmed the photo was not taken the day she died and is not relevant to the incident, according to Sullivan. The investigation is ongoing.

Tavares Police Awaiting Toxicology Tests in Suspicious Death of Woman Last Week Read More »

Teen Gang Members, Well-Known to Law Enforcement, Arrested Again

EUSTIS, Florida—Three teens, who are documented gang members and well-known to local law enforcement were arrested again last week, this time for burglarizing vehicles, according to several arrest affidavits.

On May 30, Eustis Police Department responded to a call about three suspicious males in black hoodies and masks on Beaumont Lane in the Arbor Hills neighborhood and found three males matching the description in the area of Waycross Avenue and Abrams Road around 3:30 a.m.

The trio, later identified as Gyrice Trayvon Foster, 18, Kristine Morell Morris, 15, and Artavious Jamarr Williams, 17, all of Eustis, tried to run but complied when an officer ordered them to the ground with his taser. The trio was searched and a wallet belonging to a victim on Gables Drive in the 44 Gables neighborhood was found on Morris, according to the affidavit.

Video surveillance later showed the teens entering another vehicle on Gables Drive and all three were wearing black latex gloves that were taken into evidence. At the time of the crime, Morris was also wanted for armed robbery and was taken into custody on a juvenile pickup order, along with his new crimes. Morris is also on probation and was equipped with a GPS ankle monitor when he was taken into custody. All three teens have prior convictions for theft, the affidavit states.

In the robbery case, Morris is accused of setting up a man who was trying to mentor him after he withdrew money from an ATM in downtown Eustis on Halloween 2022. The man picked Morris up and when he stopped at the ATM, Morris was chatting with, another documented gang member, who Inside Lake is not naming because he has not been charged with a crime. Morris asked the victim to pick that teen up at a home in Orange County and then they returned to Eustis, where they picked up a documented gang member, and then traveled to Lake Harris Cove Apartments in Leesburg, the site of another unrelated shooting late last month.

When they arrived at Lake Harris Cove, they picked up another male. Inside Lake is also not identifying that male because he has not yet been charged in the robbery incident. They drove back to Orange County and the victim thought one of the teens was picking up some clothes, but when he tried to reenter the vehicle, he was armed with a large rifle and the victim told him not to bring the rifle and he stayed in Orange County, according to the probable cause affidavit.

The group returned to Eustis and were in the area of Briarcliff Avenue and South Street where they picked up an unknown male. The victim exited the black GMC he was driving to “dap them up,” and the unknown male pushed away from the victim and drew a gun from his waistband and pointed at the victim and reportedly said, “Run your (expletive,)” which means “empty your pockets,” the victim told police. The victim was then robbed for the $200 he withdrew from the ATM earlier in the day, and all the teens fled the scene, the affidavit states.

Cell phone records and Instagram messages later backed up the victim’s story. The teens are documented members of “4wayy” a gang believed to be responsible for multiple shootings, grand theft auto reports and burglaries in Eustis.

The teens were all charged with burglary and petit theft in the May 30 Eustis vehicle burglaries.

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Man Arrested Numerous Times in Lake and Orange Counties Arrested Again for Trafficking in Fentanyl

LEESBURG, Florida—A man arrested, but never convicted, numerous times for a variety of offenses including vehicular manslaughter, witness tampering, trafficking in drugs and battery on a pregnant female in both Orange County and Lake County, has been arrested yet again, this time for trafficking in fentanyl, according to an arrest affidavit.

Emmanuel Cazeau, 39, of Eustis, was pulled over early Friday morning by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies for a minor traffic offense as he pulled out of Circle K, at the corner of County Road 44 and County Road 473 in unincorporated Leesburg, according to an arrest affidavit.

Deputies asked for consent to search Cazeau’s vehicle, which he denied, and K9 Jim and his handler performed an open-air sniff on the vehicle. K9 Jim alerted to the odor of narcotics and Cazeau and his passenger were removed from the vehicle. Deputies searched the vehicle and found a small bag of a purple substance weighing 13 grams that field-tested positive for the deadly drug fentanyl, the affidavit states.

PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office

Cazeau was taken into custody and arrested for trafficking in fentanyl. The arresting deputy requested a heightened bond of $200,000.

“The defendant was found in possession of approximately 13 grams of fentanyl, which carries a 25 year-minimum mandatory (sentence) and a mandatory $500,000 fine. Even a small amount of fentanyl is known to lead to serious bodily injury and/or death; the defendant was in possession of such an excessive amount which is a serious danger to the community of Lake County,” the arresting deputy noted in the affidavit.

Cazeau was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on no bond on the trafficking charge and a bond revocation order.

According to LCSO online booking records, Cazeau has been arrested in Lake County seven times since 2019 for multiple offenses including drug trafficking and felony battery; the charges were dropped in each case, according to Lake County Clerk of Court online records.

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Man Arrested Numerous Times in Lake and Orange Counties Arrested Again for Trafficking in Fentanyl Read More »

Law Enforcement Agencies Need Your Vote for K9 Grant

LAKE COUNTY, Florida—Several local law enforcement agencies are counting on the public to help them grow their K9 units with a grant from a national biohazard clean-up company.

Five agencies in Lake County are competing for a $2,500 grant that can be used for their K9 units, such as purchasing equipment and other needs for their pups. The grant will be provided by Aftermath Service LLC, a national company that provides biohazard clean-ups from incidents such as crime scenes and unattended deaths.

Eustis Police Department, Fruitland Park Police Department, Lady Lake Police Department, Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Tavares Police Department are all competing for the cash for their K9S. TPD has not had a K9 officer in nearly 20 years, newly-appointed TPD Chief Sarah Coursey told Inside Lake.

“I saw a need in my community for this essential unit, which will better aid the officers in locating and removing dangerous narcotics from our city and tracking missing or endangered persons,” Coursey said.

Tavares Police Officer Zack Barclay will serve on TPD’s K9 Unit PHOTO: Tavares Police Department

 Most agencies have taken to social media to ask for the public’s help getting votes, and TPD has been posting to its popular Facebook page each day since voting began. TPD does not have dogs yet but has already chosen its two officers that will become handlers, Officer Ben Carter and Officer Zack Barclay and have posted their photos on Facebook in hopes of drawing in votes. A quick glance at the comments shows Barclay has been quite popular—especially with the ladies.

“Our Facebook page has always been an excellent source of information when solving crimes; the community has always stepped up to the plate with valuable information and now we are asking them to throw us a bone,” Coursey explained.

Members of the public can vote up to three times a day by visiting Aftermath Service LLC’s Facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/AftermathCares, its Instagram page  @AftermathK9Grant and its website at https://www.aftermath.com/2021-florida-k9-voting/. Voting ends Monday.

Law Enforcement Agencies Need Your Vote for K9 Grant Read More »

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