LAKE COUNTY, Florida—A 23-year-old Astatula woman was killed early Sunday morning when the Polaris Ranger side-by-side she was in overturned in a water-filled ditch and trapped her, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The woman, along with a 22-year-old Mount Dora man, a 48-year-old Tavares man, and a 25-year-old woman from Grand Island, were in the all-terrain vehicle in a wooded area near the Orlando North Airpark, off Duda Road near County Road 448A when it overturned and ejected the woman, trapping her beneath the vehicle around 4:30 a.m., FHP Lt. Channing Taylor said in a press release.
The other three occupants suffered minor injuries and all four were transported to AdventHealth Apopka, where the woman was pronounced dead, Taylor said.
ASTATULA, Florida—A Howey-in-the-Hills man was killed Wednesday afternoon after he lost control of the 2018 CH-R he was driving, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The man was traveling eastbound on County Road 48 near Ranch Road shortly after 12:30 p.m. when he lost control and began to hydroplane on the wet road as rain moved in before Hurricane Ian. The Chevy entered the westbound lane of County Road 48 and hit a 2020 Ford F-150 head-on.
“This impact caused vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 to exit the roadway and collide with the guardrail,” FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi said in a press release.
PHOTO: Florida Highway Patrol
The driver of the Chevy was pronounced dead on the scene and the driver of the Ford, a 36-year-old Howey-in-the Hills man, was transported to South Lake Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Crescenzi said.
The crash closed County Road 48 between Ranch Road and Laylaine Drive, and it remained closed at press time.
Law enforcement agencies are urging residents to shelter in place and stay off the road.
ASTATULA, Florida—A traffic fatality has closed County Road 48 between Ranch Road and Laylaine Drive as Hurricane Ian approaches the coast of Florida and weather conditions worsen.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash that killed a 38-year-old Howey-in-the-Hills man shortly after 12:30 p.m. The man was driving a 2018 CH-R and collided with a 2020 Ford F-150. The driver of the Ford was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi.
No other information was available at press time.
Law enforcement agencies are urging residents to shelter in place and stay off the roads.
ASTATULA, Florida—Last month during a press conference about a record-breaking drug bust, Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell had a message for drug dealers in Lake County, “To be continued.” And on Wednesday he kept his word.
A yearlong investigation by LCSO, The City/County Investigative Bureau and Homeland Security Investigations into an Astatula man culminated in a search warrant early Wednesday morning at 22630 County Road 561, Astatula where detectives found a “one-stop shop of narcotics,” and arrested Eugene Isom, 44, and Marie Richardson, 42, LCSO Lt. John Herrell said in a press release.
Detectives, who were assisted by the SWAT team, searched the home and found 1 pound of crack cocaine, 2 pounds of fentanyl, 8 pounds of cocaine, 2 pounds of methamphetamine, 25 Tramadol pills, seven firearms, two vehicles and $218,000 cash.
Eugene Isom PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Detectives also found “everything needed to distribute large amounts of illegal drugs,” including presses, digital scales and packaging materials, Herrell said.
Isom is facing a litany of charges including tampering with evidence, trafficking in methamphetamine, trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in fentanyl, possession of marijuana, possession ammunition by a felon, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on $421,000 bond. Richardson is facing the same drug charges. She is being held on $406,000 bond and her mugshot was available at press time.
“This case is only part of an ongoing, continuing effort to combat those who deal drugs in our communities and its success would not have been possible without the support and assistance from our partners with the Clermont, Eustis, Mount Dora, and Leesburg Police Departments, as well as those from Homeland Security Investigations,” Herrell said.
This bust comes a little over a month after LCSO wrapped up “Operation Sneak-A-Peek,” a four-month operation that resulted in 27 arrests including three high-level dealers and the county’s largest fentanyl haul to date.
Inside Lake’s previous story on Operation Sneak-A-Peek
TAVARES, Florida—A man who is no stranger to the law has been arrested again—his 15th felony arrest in Lake County since 2016, according to Lake County Clerk of Court online records.
Austin Dean Chaudoin, 26, of Astatula is accused of fleeing Tavares Police officers Saturday and having drugs on him when a detective caught up with him Sunday, an arrest affidavit states.
A TPD detective was getting gas Saturday around 1 a.m. when he spotted Chaudoin pull up to a nearby gas pump. The detective recognized Chaudoin from past involvements and found the tag was expired on the white Dodge Durango Chaudoin was driving. A marked unit attempted to pull Chaudoin over on U.S. Highway 441 and Palm Gardens Street and he failed to yield and took off speeding, according to the affidavit.
Officers deactivated their emergency lights and sirens and terminated the traffic stop, driving the opposite way of Chaudoin.
The TPD detective went back to the gas station and Chaudoin was identified by the clerk and on video surveillance later that day. Around 3 a.m. Sunday, the detective was attempting to locate Chaudoin, and found him and the Durango at Rosewood Condominiums. Chaudoin was taken into custody and searched. TPD found a glass pipe, syringe and bag of white powder in his left front pocket and a small bag containing methamphetamine in his right pocket.
The detective asked Chaudoin if the white powder was “fetty,” a street term for fentanyl and he nodded his head, the affidavit states.
Chaudoin was arrested for fleeing and eluding, possession of methamphetamine, possession of fentanyl and possession of paraphernalia. He was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was released on $17,000 bond.
Correction: Due to a typo, the original headline was incorrect and did not match information contained in the story. The current headline reflects the correction.
ASTATULA, Florida—A Groveland man died Wednesday after the semi he was driving overturned around 10:20 a.m., according to Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes.
The 58-year-old man was northbound on County Road 48 near Ranch Road when he lost control and overturned, Montes said. The man, who was wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead on the scene.
ASTATULA, Florida—A man wanted for a hit-and-run caught two extra charges Monday when Florida Highway Patrol troopers attempted to question him about the crime, according to an arrest affidavit.
On Monday, a trooper was investigating a hit-and-run crash that occurred on Nov. 9 after receiving an anonymous tip including the tag number of the vehicle that fled the scene. The trooper went to the registered owner’s address in Clermont and he said although the van is registered to him, his son, Christopher Keith MacMillan, drives it and he had not seen him since the day of the crash and was not aware of the crash.
The trooper used social media to find an associate of MacMillan, 31, and her address, and he, along with two other troopers went to the woman’s home in Astatula. When they arrived, they spotted the van suspected of being in the hit-and-run partially covered with a tarp and without a tag.
PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Troopers spoke to the woman and asked where MacMillan was, and she offered to go inside and bring him out. While waiting, the trooper saw that the front of the van had several parts removed from it, including the headlights, bumper, grill and right fender. “It was obvious that someone was attempting to fix the vehicle involved in the accident and tamper with evidence,” he noted in the affidavit.
After waiting several minutes for the woman to return, FHP knocked on her door and she stated she could not find MacMillan. She told the troopers she was worried about her children and said they could search the home after she got them out. FHP called Astatula Police Department (APD) for assistance and about 25 minutes later, the woman finally exited the home with her children and troopers entered.
They gave several verbal demands for MacMillan to come out or a K-9 would be deployed. APD deployed its K-9 and the dog located MacMillan in a bedroom under a bed. MacMillan refused to come out until the dog started moving towards him and scratched his face. MacMillan then agreed to come out and he was taken into custody. Troopers found a loaded handgun under the bed, but McMillan denied knowing it was there and said it must have fallen from a magnet on the wall during the commotion. A magnet was attached to the wall, the trooper noted. An AR 15 style rifle with a round in the chamber was found on the bed.
MacMillan was questioned about the crash and he said he was trying to fix the vehicle so his dad would not find out. He made jokes about cleaning the trooper’s car and said he was not trying to evade legal trouble, but he was trying to fix it, so he did not disappoint his dad. He also said he knew it was wrong to leave the crash, but it was too late to go back.
MacMillan was arrested for tampering with evidence, resisting an officer and leaving the scene of a crash. He was released Tuesday on $8,000 bond.
