LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department is searching for a man they say shot and killed another man on Main Street Wednesday night.
LPD responded to 1906 West Main Steet around 8:45 p.m. and found Lekendre Hall, 37, lying on the ground suffering from at least one gunshot wound. He was transported to UF Health Leesburg where he pronounced deceased, according to Capt. Joe Iozzi.
“Leesburg officers secured the crime scene and detectives were then summoned along with Leesburg CSI,” Iozzi said, and after interviewing multiple witnesses, Kevin Harrison, 19, was identified as the shooter.
Harrison has not been apprehended and LPD has not released a motive for the killing. If you have information on Harrison’s whereabouts, call LPD at 352-787-2121.
UMATILLA, Fla.—Three people are behind bars and $50,000 worth of drugs are off the streets following a search warrant at a Umatilla home early Wednesday, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Acting on Crimeline tips and complaints, LCSO’s SWAT team, along with detectives from LCSO, Clermont Police Department, Eustis Police Department, Leesburg Police Department, Mount Dora Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security wrapped up a six-month long investigation Wednesday with the execution of the search warrant at 38945 Pine St., in unincorporated Umatilla.
Law enforcement detained three people found inside the home, Robert Donaldson, 46, Joana Silva, 22, and Lashonda Gaston, 44. Donaldson and Silva are engaged, according to LCSO.
Upon searching the home, law enforcement found a large amount of powder and crack cocaine, weighing about 1.5 pounds, along with an ounce of fentanyl in pill form and 7 pounds of marijuana, with a combined street value of $50,000. The fentanyl pills were stamped with a handicap symbol, LCSO said; a stolen gun and $10,000 in cash were also found.
PHOTOS: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Donaldson, who was already on probation for possession of drugs and resisting arrest in a 2021 case, was arrested for trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in fentanyl, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, manufacturing cocaine into a cocaine base, possession of drug paraphernalia, and ownership, lease, rental, or possession of a residence for trafficking in or manufacturing a controlled substance; he is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond.
Silva, who was caught trying to flush crack down the toilet, was arrested for tampering with evidence, trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in fentanyl, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, manufacturing cocaine into a cocaine base, possession of drug paraphernalia and ownership, lease, rental, or possession of a residence for trafficking in or manufacturing a controlled substance; she is being held in LCJ on $561,000 bond.
Gaston was arrested for trafficking in fentanyl and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; she is being held In LCJ on $20,000 bond.
LEESBURG, Fla.—A Leesburg woman is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond after she admitted she stabbed another woman, according to an arrest affidavit.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call early Wednesday morning stating a person had been stabbed at home in unincorporated Leesburg. The address where the stabbing occurred is redacted from the affidavit, but sources told Inside Lake it occurred on Kaylee Way, near Radio Road. The victim, whose name is also redacted from the affidavit, had approximately seven injuries “consistent with being stabbed with a knife or other edged implement,” and was “bleeding profusely.” She told police Jillian Joan Viccaro, 24, stabbed her.
The relationship between the victim and Viccaro is also redacted from the affidavit, but LCSO Public Information Officer Chanel Martin told Inside Lake, the crime “is domestic in nature.” The victim was transported to an area hospital and is in stable condition, Martin said.
Deputies located Viccaro, who had no visible injuries, and she admitted to the stabbing, but said the victim attacked her first by “lunging at her,” the affidavit states. Viccaro was arrested for attempted domestic murder and aggravated domestic battery and transported to the Lake County Jail.
LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—At press time Christmas Eve, the jolly fellow best known as Santa Claus was last spotted in Greenland and had delivered more than 5 billion gifts, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD.)
Little boys and girls (who should be in bed) can track the big guy’s movements online as he makes his way across the world with his trusty reindeer crew, by visiting NORAD Tracks Santa.
NORAD began tracking Santa in 1958 after taking over the duty from the U.S. Air Force.
MARION COUNTY, Fla.—A 76-year-old woman of The Villages was killed Saturday morning after she pulled out in front of a pickup truck, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The woman was driving an SUV east on Northwest 85th Loop at U.S. Highway 441 and attempted to make a lefthand turn onto U.S. Highway 441, around 9:30 a.m. She pulled out in front of a pickup truck traveling in the outside southbound lane and the front of the truck collided with the left side of the SUV. FHP said.
The woman was transported to HCA Ocala Hospital, where she later died from her injuries. The driver of the truck, a 38-year-old Ruskin man, was seriously injured, along with a male passenger of Kennett Square, Penn. Two other passengers in the truck, a male and female, also of Kennett Square, suffered minor injuries.
MOUNT DORA, Fla.—A Sanford man already on probation for upskirting women at a Sanford Walmart last year is accused of masturbating in a busy Mount Dora store, fleeing and being tackled in the parking lot by Mount Dora Police Department Sunday afternoon.
According to an arrest affidavit, MDPD responded to Dollar Tree, 16930 U.S. Highway 441, around 4:45 p.m. on a report of a man exposing himself. The victim told an officer she saw a man, later identified as Jensen Alexander, 35, exposing himself and recording himself masturbating as she stood in the background reaching for items on a shelf. She said Alexander was still in the store and described the clothes he was wearing, including a black knit hat.
The officer began looking through the store and as he approached the checkout, customers began telling him Alexander ran and pointed to the west side of the store. The officer walked toward that side of the store and spotted the “top of a tall person’s head over the aisle shelving, which was black in color like a knit hat,” the affidavit states. According to booking records, Alexander is 6 feet, 4 inches tall.
The officer told Alexander he was being detained and as he tried to secure Alexander, he began resisting, broke free and “sprinted” toward the exit. The officer struggled with Alexander as they went through the door, and he tackled Alexander in the parking lot. They continued to struggle, and a second officer pulled up and assisted the first officer with getting Alexander cuffed, according to the affidavit.
After being taken into custody, Alexander told the victim he “was just trying to pee,” and she reportedly said, “That’s what you get for showing me your penis,” the affidavit states.
Both Alexander and the responding officer were treated for their injuries at a local emergency room and after Alexander was cleared, he was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on $10,000 bond.
In August 2022, Alexander was arrested by Sanford Police Department after Walmart video surveillance captured Alexander upskirting women in two different areas of the store. In January of this year, he pleaded guilty to video voyeurism and was sentenced to 18 months probation, a psycho-sexual evaluation and recommended treatment, and 50 hours of community service. He also agreed to allow probation to search any electronic device he has access to at any time, without a warrant, according to Seminole County Clerk of Court online records.
CLERMONT, Fla.— A 26-year-old Kissimmee man was killed Sunday night after he fell from his Kawasaki motorcycle and was struck by eight vehicles on U.S. Highway 27, near Clermont, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Around 6:20 p.m. Sunday, the motorcyclist was traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 27 near Frank Jarrell Road when he lost control, fell from the bike, and landed in the center lane, FHP Trooper Migdalisis Garcia said in a press release.
The rider was then struck by eight vehicles that were traveling behind him, including a Chevrolet Trax, a Nissan Armada, a Toyota Camry, a Chevrolet Silverado, a Ford Escape, a Toyota Corolla, a Nissan Pathfinder and a Dodge Challenger. The drivers of all eight vehicles did not see him, Garcia said.
The motorcyclist was pronounced deceased on the scene; none of the occupants of the eight vehicles that struck him were injured, Garcia said. FHP originally stated the crash involved the motorcycle and two vehicles, but the investigation later revealed the crash involved a total of nine vehicles.
CLERMONT, Fla.—The Florida Highway Patrol is on scene of a fatal crash at U.S. Highway 27 and Frank Jarrell Road, near Clermont.
A 26-year-old Kissimmee man riding a 2024 Kawasaki motorcycle was involved in a crash with 2020 Chevrolet Trax and a 2023 Dodge Challenger around 6:20 p.m. Sunday. The motorcyclist was pronounced deceased on the scene. There is a roadblock in the area and motorists are asked to use caution.
TAVARES, Fla.—Tavares Police Department has identified the man killed on U.S. Highway 441 Friday night.
According to witnesses and TPD’s preliminary investigation, around 8 p.m., Renald Guay, 67, of New Hampshire, was standing in the median of U.S. Highway 441, also known as Burleigh Boulevard, near Lake Eustis Drive, when he began to jaywalk across the highway, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan said.
He was struck by a white 2014 Lincoln SUV traveling in a southbound lane and being driven by Merle Somers, 50, of Tavares. Somers and her passenger were not injured. “The vehicle occupants remained on scene and cooperated with investigators,” Sullivan told Inside Lake.
Guay was transported to a local hospital, where he later died. The crash closed the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 441/Burleigh Boulevard for several hours.
TAVARES, Fla.—Tavares Police Department is investigating a crash that killed a pedestrian and the southbound lanes of Burleigh Boulevard also known as U.S. Highway 441 are closed.
A male was struck near the intersection of Lake Eustis Drive and Burleigh Boulevard around 8 p.m. Friday and was transported to a local hospital, where he later died, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake.
Details about how the crash occurred were not available at press time and the man has not been publicly identified.
All southbound lanes of Burleigh Boulevard are closed, and officers are re-routing traffic through turn lanes, Sullivan said. Motorists are being asked to avoid the area while TPD completes its investigation.
