Apopka

K9 Bruce and his handler Tavares Police Officer Zach Barclay. Courtesy photo

Tavares Police K9 Bruce Sniffs Out Trafficking Amount of Deadly Drug Early Tuesday Morning

Inside Scoop, Tavares / By

TAVARES, Fla.—Not even a month on the job and Tavares Police Department’s K9 Bruce has his first trafficking arrest under his collar.

Around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, a TPD road patrol officer was patrolling the area of Burleigh Boulevard (U.S. Highway 441) and Sinclair Avenue when she spotted a black Dodge Challenger and ran a check on the license plate, according to an arrest affidavit.

The license plate came back invalid, and not assigned to a vehicle, giving the officer probable cause for a traffic stop. The officer stopped the car and found the driver, Larry Wallace Taylor, 48, of Apopka, “extremely upset” about the traffic stop,” the arresting officer noted in the affidavit.

Taylor repeatedly told the officer she was incorrect about the tag, and he could provide the paperwork to prove it, but he failed to do so, and also claimed he could not find his wallet. He informed the officer a firearm was in the car and believed his wallet was near the gun and allowed a second officer to safely remove it from the car. Taylor still could not find his wallet and was shaking and “sweating profusely,” even though it was 51 degrees outside, the arresting officer noted.

As Taylor continued to look for his wallet, he told the officer he was nervous, and the officer requested to search the car. He denied her request and as he moved around the car, the officer saw his wallet underneath him and he finally provided his license, according to the affidavit.

Newly-hired K9 Bruce arrived on scene with his handler and performed an exterior sniff of the car. K9 Bruce alerted and upon searching the interior of the car, officers found a “tooter,” a small tube commonly used to snort narcotics, and two bags, one that contained a crystalline rock-like substance and the second, which contained a crystalline substance and a white powder.

PHOTO: Tavares Police Department

The arresting officer tested the rock-like substance that weighed more than 11 grams and it field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Taylor was transported to the Lake County Jail and on the ride to jail, he made a “spontaneous utterance” the drugs were not just methamphetamine. Officers tested both bags at LCJ and they both tested positive for fentanyl, according to the affidavit.

Taylor was arrested for trafficking in fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine and possession of paraphernalia; he was released on $28,000 bond.

 

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File photo

Social Media Dispute Between Umatilla and Apopka Teens Erupts into Chase, Gun Found

Inside Scoop, Umatilla, Unincorporated Lake / By

UMATILLA, Fla.— A dispute between teenagers that began over social media erupted into a chase and eventual arrest Thursday after one teen admitted a gun found in a truck was his, according to an arrest affidavit.

Law enforcement received information that a large fight was going to occur between Umatilla teens and Apopka teens over a social media dispute. A video showed a teen brandishing a black pistol with an extended magazine from inside what appeared to be a Dodge Ram, according to the affidavit.

Umatilla High School Principal Brent Frazier sent out a voice message to parents and guardians at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in reference to the video. In the call, Frazier said a student came forward with the video and it showed a male holding a gun, “no threat accompanied the video” and extra law enforcement officers would be on the UHS campus Friday.  (Listen to full message below.)

After UHS dismissal Thursday, law enforcement began working to prevent the fight between the two groups of teens and they learned a group of Apopka juveniles was chasing a Umatilla juvenile to start a fight. The chase went outside the city limits and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office requested the assistance of Umatilla Police Department, the affidavit states.

A black Dodge Ram was identified as the vehicle chasing the Umatilla teen and UPD performed a traffic stop on Twin Ponds Road east of Skyline Drive, just outside of the city limits around 7:30 p.m. All of the occupants were removed from the truck and upon searching the truck, a black Taurus pistol “matching the likeness of the pistol viewed in the social media posts,” was found in the pocket of the passenger side door.

A 16-year-old male, of Apopka, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the Ram, first denied ownership of the gun, but later admitted it after he was positively identified as the subject in the social media video. He said his friend asked him to bring the gun to the fight in case the Umatilla juveniles brought guns, according to the affidavit.

He was arrested for possession of a firearm and turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice; his name is not being released because the charge is a misdemeanor.

Social Media Dispute Between Umatilla and Apopka Teens Erupts into Chase, Gun Found Read More »

PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff's Office

Apopka Man Accused of Rubbing Up Against 2 Elderly Women in Tavares Saturday

Inside Scoop, Tavares / By

TAVARES, Florida—An Apopka man has been released from the Lake County Jail after two elderly women accused him of rubbing up against them while he was aroused in a Tavares store Saturday, according to an arrest affidavit.

Tavares Police Department responded to the area of Banning Beach Road and U.S. Highway 441 Saturday morning on a report of man masturbating at the register of a nearby business. Inside Lake is not naming the business because it may identify one of the victims.

A TPD corporal spotted a man fitting the complainant’s description of the suspect and carrying a bag from the business where the alleged incidents occurred at a nearby car dealership off U.S. Highway 441. The man, identified at Zehran Wilcox-Maxwell, 25, appeared to be getting into a vehicle as TPD approached him and asked where he had been, the affidavit states.

Wilcox-Maxwell said he was at another store in the area and the corporal asked him if he was at the business where the incidents were reported. He said, yes, and TPD asked him if there was anything he wanted to tell him about. Wilcox-Maxwell said he was in store to buy some items and then came back; TPD told him there was an allegation he was masturbating at the register and Wilcox-Maxwell denied it and told TPD to go check the cameras. Another officer arrived and stayed with Wilcox-Maxwell while the corporal went to the store where the incident allegedly took place, according to the affidavit.

When TPD arrived at the store, a 70-year-old woman said Wilcox-Maxwell pushed up against her once and an employee of the store, who is over 65, twice. Both women started giving TPD more details and said he was aroused while doing it. Wilcox-Maxwell did not expose his penis, but both women said it was “protruding from the front of his shorts,” the affidavit states.

Another customer overheard the conversation and said she had a similar experience with the man, but only provided her name and number before leaving the store.

TPD reviewed the store’s surveillance video and Wilcox-Maxwell is seen in several areas of the store. The cameras did not cover the areas where he touched the women, the corporal noted.

In one frame, Wilcox-Maxwell is seen with his hand near his crotch in a “stroking motion consistent with how someone would pleasure themselves,” the affidavit states.

Police spoke to the two victims and one victim said Wilcox-Maxwell asked her if the store carried drapes and she took him to an aisle to show him. She said he pushed up against her buttocks with an erection and she tried to move away; when she turned to walk away, and he came up behind her and did it again. The second victim told police Wilcox-Maxwell appeared to be masturbating and he approached her and “bumped” into her hip with an erection, according to the affidavit.

When confronted with the allegations, Wilcox-Maxwell denied them and said he has psoriasis on his inner thighs, and he was just scratching himself. He also denied touching any of the women.

Wilcox-Maxwell was arrested for two counts of battery on a victim over 65. According to Florida law, the incidents fall under the battery statute and are not considered sex crimes. He was transported to LCJ, where he was released on $4,000 bond Saturday night.

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PHOTO: City of Apopka

Uniformed Apopka Police Officer Driving Marked Patrol Car Arrested for DUI, Blew Nearly 5 Times the Legal Limit, Police Say

Eustis, Inside Scoop / By

EUSTIS, Florida—An Apopka Police officer is on administrative leave with pay after being arrested for DUI in his marked patrol car, in full uniform and blowing nearly five times the legal limit on Independence Day.

Oscar Mayorga, a 5-year veteran of APD, was assigned to the patrol division and was scheduled to work Monday, according to a statement released by APD Sgt. Kim Walsh.

Just after 6 p.m. Monday, Eustis Police received a report of a reckless driver from a witness who said a marked Apopka Police car was unable to maintain its lane near U.S. Highway 441 and Donnelly Street in Mount Dora and was headed into Eustis.

EPD pulled the police car over near on South Street, near South Mary Street and identified the driver as Oscar Mayorga, who was in full uniform, according to the report. Mayorga, who had an open beer in his center cupholder, told the EPD officer he was on his way to work, while slurring his speech, according to a report.

The officer asked Mayorga if he needed medical attention and he reportedly said he is prone to having seizures and did not feel well. An officer asked if he had anything to drink and Mayorga, who smelled of alcohol, said he had taken three Benadryl, according to the report.

EPD asked Mayorga to step out of the vehicle and he “staggered out and had to use his door for support,” the report states. EPD disarmed Mayorga, as he was in full uniform, and he was unable to maintain his balance as he walked to a nearby sidewalk.

EPD requested Lake EMS respond to the scene and Mayorga refused to be transported and told Lake EMS he drank three tall boys (24 ounce cans of beer.) EPD read Mayorga his rights and asked him again if he had been drinking and Mayorga said he drank three tall boys of Modelo beer a “few hours” ago. The officer asked Mayorga if he called in to work and what Apopka Police Department’s policy is concerning drinking before work. He said there is supposed to be at least a six-hour time difference between drinking and going to work, according to the report.

Mayorga refused to perform field sobriety exercises and he was transported to EPD where he gave two breath samples, one with a reading of .391 and the second with a reading of .385—nearly five times the legal limit.

Mayorga was arrested for DUI and transported to the Lake County Jail and an APD sergeant responded to the scene for Mayorga’s patrol car and gear. Mayorga was released from LCJ Tuesday morning on $1,000 bond.

Uniformed Apopka Police Officer Driving Marked Patrol Car Arrested for DUI, Blew Nearly 5 Times the Legal Limit, Police Say Read More »

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