MARION COUNTY, Fla.—A Lady Lake woman was killed Monday morning after losing control of an SUV and crashing into a tree, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The 49-year-old woman was southbound on Southeast 47th Avenue north of Southeast Highway 42 when she lost control for an unknown reason, traveled into the northbound land and struck a tree off the west shoulder around 9 a.m. Monday, FHP Lt. P.V. Riordan said.
She was pronounced deceased on the scene and was not wearing a seatbelt, Riordan said.
CITRUS COUNTY, Fla.—A Lady Lake man is accused of being drunk, causing a crash that killed a man and fleeing the scene Sunday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Robert Brandon Vanzant, 31, of Lady Lake was speeding southbound in a Ford F-150 on North Carl G. Rose Highway and passing traffic on the shoulder shortly before 2:30 p.m. Sunday, FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said.
Vanzant merged back into traffic near East Spruce Drive and rear-ended a Honda Accord being driven by a 62-year-old Lecanto man. The impact propelled the Honda across the road, where it struck a bridge rail and then collided with a second Ford F-150 being driven northbound by a 42-year-old Beverly Hills man.
The Lecanto man was transported to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The Beverly Hills man suffered minor injuries.
Vanzant, who was not injured, left the scene, dumped his truck at a nearby gas station and fled on foot into a pasture where he was apprehended by Citrus County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Gaskins said.
Vanzant was later arrested by FHP for DUI manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash with death, leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving while license suspended with death.
Update: Bernard Jeanty has been found in Volusia County.
SORRENTO, Fla.—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a man who was last seen Thursday at his home in Sorrento.
According to an LCSO social media post, Bernard Jeanty, 51, left his home sometime during the day in his black 2019 Nissan Pathfinder, along with his dog.
Jeanty is described as a black male, 5 feet 11 inches tall and approximately 150 to 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing pink sweatpants and a black shirt.
If you have information on Jeanty’s whereabouts, call LCSO Det. VanBuskirk at 352-343-9529 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
MOUNT DORA, Fla.—A man who was a victim of a shooting, has pleaded no contest to a charge of filing a false report after Mount Dora Police Department determined he and his ex-girlfriend lied about the location where he was shot in November, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Around 3:30 p.m. Nov. 13, shots rang out at Rosewood Condominiums in Tavares, terrifying parents and a school bus full of children that had pulled into the parking lot; Rosewood has been the site of several shootings and violent crimes in recent years.
“This occurred during a time frame when children were being dropped off,” Tavares Police Department Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake in November. “This is a residential neighborhood.”
TPD responded to the scene and began searching for a victim and evidence and while they were investigating, Amarion Saucier, 21, showed up at AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares with his then-girlfriend, Josey Neat, 21. Saucier was suffering a gunshot wound to the buttocks.
Saucier and Neat told TPD Saucier was shot at Cauley Lott Park in Mount Dora and TPD requested Mount Dora Police Department’s assistance. A lieutenant with MDPD checked footage from cameras mounted in Cauley Lott Park and found no indication a shooting occurred there.
“In fact, children were observed playing on the swings, riding scooters and playing basketball within the 50-minute time frame of the recording,” an MDPD detective noted in the affidavit. “It is clear there was no shooting incident at the intersection of Highland Street and Pine Avenue inside Cauley Lott Park.”
The MDPD detective responded to the hospital to interview Saucier and Neat and when he arrived a TPD captain told him he warned the couple they could be arrested for giving a false statement to law enforcement, the affidavit states.
Tavares Police Department responds to a shooting at Rosewood Condominiums in November. Courtesy photo
Saucier and Neat told the detective the shooting did occur at Cauley Lott Park when he interviewed them separately. He told Neat the video surveillance from Cauley Lott Park did match her story and, “she insisted her story was true,” the affidavit states.
A warrant was issued for both Saucier and Neat Nov. 16, 2023, for false information to a law enforcement officer and they were picked up two months later on Jan. 16 when Neat called the police on Saucier. In that incident, she told MDPD she went to her now ex-boyfriend Saucier’s apartment in Spring Harbor Apartments in Mount Dora with her brother and another woman to get a phone for her daughter. Neat said the pair got into a verbal alteration and Saucier threatened to shoot her vehicle several times, though she did not see a weapon. Saucier then broke her window trying to get to Neat’s brother, according to Saucier’s arrest affidavit in that case.
When officers ran their names, they found Neat and Saucier had warrants and they were both taken into custody. Neat was released the following day on $1,000 bond. Saucier, was arrested for an additional charge of burglary for breaking the window and has since pleaded no contest to the false information charge. He is currently serving his sentence in the Lake County Jail; the burglary case remains open.
TPD continues to investigate the November shooting.
Update: Linda Billig was found in Winter Springs, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
SORRENTO, Fla.—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance with locating an 80-year-old Sorrento woman reported missing Monday morning.
Linda Derr Billig, 80, was reported missing from her home on PGA Drive in Sorrento shortly before 8:45 a.m. and suffers from dementia, LCSO Public Information Officer Chanel Martin said.
A Silvert Alert has been issued for Billig, and she is described as a white female, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with gray hair, brown eyes and weighs approximately 175 pounds. She is believed to be driving a 2004 white Toyota Highlander with a specialty tag, “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” RLM259 and may be wearing pajamas.
If you see Billig or know her whereabouts, call LCSO 352-343-2101.
MOUNT DORA, Fla.—An incident with a barricaded subject in Mount Dora came to a peaceful end about seven hours after it started Sunday night.
A man, who has not been identified publicly, was having a mental health crisis and barricaded himself in a building at Hammock Oaks Apartments, 3550 Lake Center Drive, Mount Dora, shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday.
Mount Dora Police Department responded to the scene and Tavares Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office assisted, City of Mount Dora Spokesperson Misty Sommer said, and some residents were evacuated from their homes.
The ordeal lasted until nearly midnight and ended with a “peaceful resolution” and the subject was taken into custody, Sommer said. No other details were available at press time.
MOUNT DORA, Fla.—At least three law enforcement agencies are on scene at a Mount Dora apartment complex due to a barricaded subject.
Mount Dora Police Department, Tavares Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to Hammock Oaks Apartments, 3550 Lake Center Drive, Mount Dora in reference to a subject having a “mental health crisis,” shortly before 5 p.m. TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake.
Some residents were evacuated from their homes,” City of Mount Dora Spokesperson Misty Sommer said.
“We believe he’s isolated, Sullivan said. “We’re ensuring the safety of the residents.”
LINCOLN PARISH, La.—The mom accused of kidnapping her two daughters from a Lake County foster home fled from Louisiana State Police (LSP) when they attempted stop her Friday and is now facing additional charges.
LSP troopers received information from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office that Dixie Williams, 41, may be traveling on Interstate 20 in a silver Nissan Rogue and troopers spotted the Nissan and initiated a traffic stop, just before 12:15 p.m. local time. Williams came to a brief stop on Interstate 20 westbound, east of LA-145 and then fled from troopers, according to LSP.
After a brief pursuit by LSP and Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies, a “tire deflation device” was deployed and Williams came to a stop, LSP said.
Williams was taken into custody and Tilli, 5, and Natalia, 18 months, who were not in child safety seats, were safely recovered by law enforcement. They were turned over to the Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services.
Williams is now facing two counts of kidnapping in Lake County, and numerous charges in Louisiana, including aggravated flight from an officer, operating a vehicle with a suspended license, resisting an officer, two counts of no child passenger restraint system and no seat belt use.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla.—A Umatilla man was arrested Thursday after stealing a pickup truck from the City of Umatilla and heading into Volusia County at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
Just before 3:45 p.m. VSO received a call from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office advising a truck stolen from the City of Umatilla was headed into Volusia County. About 20 minutes later the truck was spotted on West New York Avenue, also known as State Road 44, near the Lake County line, according to an arrest affidavit.
The driver, Eblair Sylvain, 18, apparently saw law enforcement officers and began driving the truck over 100 miles per hour, passing multiple vehicles, going in and out of the ditch area on the side of the road and almost causing several head-on collisions.
Body cam footage of the apprehension of Eblair Sylvain, 18, who is accused of stealing a truck from the City of Umatilla and reaching speeds of more than 100 mph in Volusia County Thursday. VIDEO: Volusia Sheriff’s Office
A VSO deputy deployed stop sticks and struck two passenger side tires and Sylvain continued driving about a half a mile before bailing out, armed with a gun. He fled into a wooded area, dropped the gun and VSO deployed a K9 that apprehended Sylvain a short time later, the affidavit states.
The gun, which had an altered serial number, was found on the scene and Sylvain reportedly told VSO he stole the truck because he was “bored,” and claimed he found the gun under the seat of the truck.
Sylvain was arrested for grand theft of a motor vehicle, grand theft of a firearm, resisting arrest without violence and reckless driving. He was also issued a traffic citation for improper lane change, according to the affidavit.
He was transported to the Volusia Branch Jail, where he is being held on $17,000 bond.
LOUISIANA—A pair of sisters kidnapped from a Sorrento foster home have been found safe in Louisiana, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Louisiana authorities found Tilli, 5, and Natalia, 18 months, with their biological mother, Dixie Williams, who is now in custody on a warrant for kidnapping, LCSO Lt. John Herrell said Friday afternoon.
