FOUR CORNERS, Florida—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate a shooting that left a man dead Tuesday and have released the shooter’s name.
Christopher Darrick Deloatch, 36, shot Dejuan Dior McWilliams, 31, around noon Tuesday when he tried to enter Deloatch’s apartment uninvited, LCSO Lt. Fred Jones said.
McWilliams was found deceased on the third floor of an apartment building at Cagan Crossings, 16343 Cagan Crossing Boulevard in the Four Corners area, also known as Citrus Ridge. Jones said the pair were involved in a confrontation at Deloatch’s doorway.
FOUR CORNERS, Florida—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of the man shot at an apartment complex Tuesday.
Dejuan Dior McWilliams, 31, was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon after a confrontation at the doorway of an apartment at 16343 Cagan Crossings Boulevard in the Four Corners area, also known as Citrus Ridge.
McWilliams was found dead around noon Tuesday by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies, on the third floor of an apartment building, LCSO Lt. Fred Jones said. The shooter’s name has not been released and LCSO is still investigating.
Jones said McWilliams and the shooter knew each other.
FOUR CORNERS, Florida—A person was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon after a confrontation at the doorway of an apartment at Cagan Crossings in the Four Corners area
The black male, whose identity has not been released, was found deceased around noon Tuesday by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies, on the third floor of an apartment building LCSO Lt. Fred Jones said. Detectives have found the shooter and the deceased male knew each other and a confrontation occurred at the doorway of the apartment at 16343 Cagan Crossings Boulevard. The Four Corners area is also known as Citrus Ridge.
No other information has been released. “It is still early in the investigation,” Jones said.
CLERMONT, Florida—A man who pleaded guilty to several counts of contracting without a license, grand theft, and failure to obtain workers compensation insurance in Pasco County early this month was served with a Lake County warrant Friday while serving his sentence, charging him with two of the same crimes.
Eric Lee Manning, of Dade City, was served with the warrant for contracting without a license and grand theft just two days before his 34th birthday after being accused of swindling a Clermont woman out of more than $4,000 dollars in 2021, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Manning is alleged to have provided the victim with a $6,700 estimate for a screen enclosure and aluminum roof for a back patio. The woman gave Manning a check for $3,350 for materials and four days later, while completing a small job, he told the woman he needed an additional $1,000 and she wrote him a second check, the affidavit states.
PHOTO: Pasco County Sheriff’s Office
Ten days later, Manning asked for another $1,200 and the victim told him she was not comfortable giving him more money. For more than a month, the victim was unable to reach Manning and after finally reaching him, he told her the materials were backordered. Nearly two weeks later on July 19, 2021, the victim contacted the company Manning said he ordered from, and they informed the victim the materials were never ordered, according to the affidavit.
Manning stopped answering calls and text messages and was arrested by Pasco County Sheriff’s Office on July 21. Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies found he was not licensed after doing an online search with the Department of Business and Professional Regulations, Manning was positively identified and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
CLERMONT, Florida—A bicyclist was killed Thursday after he was struck by a car, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Witnesses told FHP the bicyclist, a 45-year-old Clermont man, was eastbound on the bike trail on State Road 50 and County Road 455, when he ran the stop sign and entered the direct path of a sedan that was southbound on County Road 455 at 3:30 p.m. near Clermont, FHP Lt. Kim Montes said in a press release.
The impact killed the cyclist, who was wearing a helmet. The 16-year-old Montverde girl driving the sedan was not injured.
TAVARES, Florida—A Windermere man who lived in Clermont in October turned himself in at the Lake County Jail Thursday on a warrant for two counts possession child pornography.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Timothy Ray Holmes, 37, messaged a Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) detective who was acting as an underage decoy on the app, Whisper on Oct. 14. Holmes asked the detective for a photo, and she sent him a photo of an employee who was 14 or 15 years old at the time the photo was taken and told Holmes she was 13. Holmes advised he was 37.
Timothy Holmes PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
The conversation continued through Oct. 26 and Holmes identified himself to be a 37-year-old military veteran named Tim; he sent who he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, six unsolicited photos of his penis and asked for sexual photos of the girl. The WCSO detective subpoenaed subscriber information for the IP address used to message the detective and found it belonged to Holmes at his apartment on Town Center Boulevard.
A Lake County judge granted a search warrant on Feb. 14 for Holmes’ apartment and on Feb 16, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent contacted Holmes and met him in the parking lot of his apartment complex, the affidavit states.
Holmes admitted using the Whisper app to communicate with who he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, admitted sending photos of his penis and asking the girl to take sexual photos of herself.
Holmes said the situation was a “lapse in judgment, stupid on his part” and “just conversations and he never met the decoy in person. Holmes handed over his phone and spontaneously told agents they would find photos of a 10-year-old girl in the Anon Chat app. Agents found a sexually explicit photo of a young girl and ended the preview of the device so they could obtain a search warrant for the phone, according to the affidavit. An additional photo was found after a forensic search of the phone.
A Warrant was issued for Holmes’ arrest Wednesday, and he turned himself into the Lake County Jail Thursday, where he was released on $4,000 bond.
CLERMONT, Florida—A Wildwood man was arrested for aggravated battery after purposely causing a collision during an apparent road rage incident earlier this month while he was driving a tractor-trailer for his job, according to a Florida Highway Patrol arrest report.
FHP responded to a crash shortly after 4:30 p.m. Feb. 9 on U.S. 27 near Scholfield Road and found that a collision occurred between Christopher Terrence Brooks, 46, who was driving a Peterbilt tractor-trailer and another man, who was driving a Ford F150. The man told troopers he and Brooks were in their respective vehicles driving northbound on U.S. Highway 27 for a few miles. The man became aggravated Brooks was traveling in the inside through lane below the speed limit, so he passed Brooks and gave him “the bird” as he passed, according to the affidavit.
The man later changed lanes and Brooks attempted to pass him. As Brooks passed, the trailer portion of the tractor-trailer Brooks was driving came into his lane and struck the man’s Ford F150.
Christopher Brooks PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Brooks told FHP a similar story until the collision. Brooks said the F150 was “brake checking” him to prevent him from passing and then came into his lane and he “lightly jerked” the steering wheel to avoid a collision, the affidavit states. Brooks said the entire incident was captured on his dashcam and the trooper informed Brooks he would be getting the dashcam footage. The trooper also questioned the driver of the F150 about Brooks’ accusations of “brake checking” and preventing him from passing. The F150 driver denied Brooks’ claims.
At a later date, Brooks’ employer provided FHP with the video footage and the trooper found both drivers lied, he noted in the affidavit. The driver of the F150 prevented Brooks from passing on multiple occasions and “brake checked” Brooks to the point he almost rear-ended the F150. The F150 then changed lanes and Brooks accelerated and swerved into the F150 as he passed. A second video from the cab of Brooks’ vehicle shows Brooks accelerate past the F150 and sharply jerk the wheel, causing the tractor-trailer to collide with the F150.
Brooks turned himself in Sunday and was released from the Lake County Jail on $2,000 bond.
CLERMONT, Florida—A man was arrested Saturday for neglect of an elderly disabled person after he left his wheelchair-bound grandmother without help in deplorable conditions, according to an arrest affidavit.
Michael Dale Plant’s grandmother called the Lake County Sheriff’s Office twice Saturday morning and reported Plant had not come home the night before. The woman, who suffers from dementia and recently been released from the hospital, told LCSO she feared something may have happened to Plant responder her home. Deputies made entry into her home due to her being immobile and in a wheelchair, the affidavit states.
When a deputy entered the home, “I was hit with the foul odor of animal urine and the smell of feces. I observed (the victim) in a wheelchair in the center of the living room with her right arm in a black medical arm sling,” the arrested deputy noted in the affidavit.
PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
The victim requested the deputy pick up a pill bottle that was on the ground because she was unable to retrieve it and had been pushing it around with her foot all morning, according to the affidavit.
The victim said Plant had not come home the night before and she did not have anyone to help her use the bathroom, shower, change her clothes or make food. LCSO attempted to call Plant, but he did not answer, and the deputy was unable to leave a message, according to the affidavit.
“While in the residence, I observed all the rooms in the residence to be cluttered with dirt, dust, rotten food, spider webs, spiders, cockroaches, ants, maggots and bedbugs. The kitchen sink was filled with dirty dishes, however, there was running water. Upon opening the fridge, many cockroaches scurried out of food dishes and onto the floor. While looking in (the victim’s) bedroom, I observed feces on her sheets, spider webs and spiders all over her bed and bedside furniture as well as animal feces on the floor,” the deputy stated.
PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Plant arrived at the home while LCSO was on scene and said his grandmother had fallen and been in the hospital and later rehab before she was released to go back home. Plant said he called his grandmother and told her he would not be late but did not come home because he drank too much. Plant admitted he had not helped her change her clothes or shower since she had been released from rehab. He also said he knew the living conditions were bad, but they were much worse before his grandmother was released.
LCSO notified the Department of Children and Families and three goats, and three cats were removed from the residence by Lake County Animal Control.
Plant was placed under arrest and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was released on $2,000 bond.
CLERMONT, Florida— Two more charges were added Wednesday, increasing his bond to $100,000, to a man accused of raping an 18-year-old student last week as she walked to her bus stop.
Brian Terick Wilkerson, 18, of Clermont is facing a charge of attempted kidnapping and assault with intent to do violence, in addition to sexual battery, kidnapping and false imprisonment charges he was originally arrested for on Monday by Lake County Sheriff’s Office detectives.
Wilkerson is accused of raping a woman as she walked to her school bus stop at Carrington at Four Corners apartments in unincorporated Clermont around 6:20 a.m. Jan. 19. Wilkerson covered the teenager’s mouth, dragged her to the third floor of a building and forced her to perform a sex act, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Later the same night, another woman reported a man grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth, she screamed, and the man ran away. A third victim told LCSO she arrived home from work at 9:22 p.m. and as she walked to her door, she heard footsteps behind her. She said a black male was running towards her with his hands up and she screamed, causing him to run away.
On Jan. 20, the apartment complex provided high-definition video from the incident involving the first victim and detectives were able to track the suspect’s movements in a Suzuki Forenza that is registered to Wilkerson, who lives just a half of a mile from the complex where all three incidents took place. Other videos show the Forenza was in the complex during each attack, the affidavit states.
LCSO began surveillance on Wilkerson Thursday and followed him back to the apartment complex where they observed him driving through and parking several times. He “appeared to mimic the movements of females observed walking in the apartment complex,” the affidavit states.
Wilkerson was taken into custody Monday and remains in the Lake County Jail on $100,000 bond.
CLERMONT, Florida—A man accused of raping an 18-year-old student Wednesday as she walked to her bus stop has been arrested just five days after the attack.
Brian Terick Wilkerson, 18, of Clermont is facing a charge of sexual battery, kidnapping and false imprisonment after he was identified as the man who raped one victim and accosted two more, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The first victim told police she was walking to her bus stop at Carrington at Four Corners apartments in unincorporated Clermont around 6:20 a.m. Wednesday when a man, later identified as Wilkerson, approached her from behind, put his hand over her mouth and dragged her to the third floor. He forced the victim to perform a sex act and later ran away.
Video surveillance showed the victim walking along a building and a person walking in the opposite direction passes her, then turns around, grabs her from behind and both are seen entering the stairwell; both can be seen leaving in opposite directions a few minutes later.
The same night, LCSO received a report from a second victim who said, shortly before 9 p.m. she was walking in the same apartment complex and a man grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth. She screamed and ran up a flight of stairs and he followed her until she screamed again, and he ran away, according to the affidavit. Video surveillance in that incident showed the victim going up the stairs, followed by the male and then a woman screaming.
LCSO received a third report that night from the opposite side of the apartment complex. The female victim told LCSO she arrived home from work at 9:22 p.m. and as she walked to her door, she heard footsteps behind her. She said a black male was running towards her with his hands up and she screamed, causing him to run away.
On Thursday, the apartment complex provided high-definition video from the incident involving the first victim. LCSO detectives were able to track the suspect’s movements and he is seen arriving and leaving the complex in a Suzuki Forenza. After running the tag, LCSO found Wilkerson is the only registered owner and lives with his grandmother just a half of a mile from the complex where all three incidents took place. Other videos show the Forenza was in the complex during each attack, the affidavit states.
LCSO began surveilling Wilkerson Thursday and at one point followed him back to the apartment complex. He drove through and parked several times and “appeared to mimic the movements of females observed walking in the apartment complex, the affidavit states.
On Monday detectives performed a “trash pull” at Wilkerson’s home; if any evidence was found, it was redacted from the affidavit. A warrant was issued for Wilkerson’s arrest, and he was picked up shortly before 5 p.m. Monday. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on $45,000 bond.
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