SORRENTO, Florida—The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a hit-and-run crash involving a bicyclist before daybreak Wednesday.
A 59-year-old man of Sorrento was riding a bicycle with proper lighting eastbound on Wolf Branch Road approaching County Road 437 on the south edge of the road, possibly around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, when he was struck by an unknown vehicle, FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi told Inside Lake.
The vehicle fled the scene and troopers found small debris that may belong to a white vehicle but were unable to determine the make or model of the vehicle. The bicyclist was transported to HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford with serious injuries and remains in stable condition, Crescenzi said. There were no known witnesses to the crash and troopers are asking anyone with information to contact Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
EUSTIS, Florida—An arrest has been made in the January murder of a Eustis man, Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri announced Thursday morning.
Austin Lashay Hill, 26, of Tangerine was taken into custody at the Lake County/Orange County line Tuesday on a warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, improper exhibition of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Those crimes were also committed in Eustis.
On Wednesday, several more charges were added to Hill, including premeditated murder, discharging a firearm in public and an additional charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Flanked by family and loved ones of the victim, Capri said Hill murdered Wseni “Haitian Blac” Laguerre, 39, at Laguerre’s Eustis home on Palm Avenue Jan. 30. EPD responded to the shooting and found Laguerre with multiple gunshot wounds. Witnesses told police an individual, now identified as Hill, had some sort of confrontation with Laguerre, shot him multiple times and fled the scene. Laguerre was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares where he died a brief time later, Capri told Inside Lake earlier this year.
Wseni “Haitian Blac” Laguerre COURTESY PHOTO
Choking back tears, Laguerre’s cousin spoke briefly to reporters about her cousin who was described as a family man who took his mother to all her doctor’s appointments. She said he will be remembered for his smile, his love and his aura. He was also an identical twin.
“He was the glue” she said, “He kept us together.”
Pam Simmons, a resident of Eustis came to the press conference because she cares about her community and is tired of all the gun violence.
“I just want us to stop killing each other,” she told Inside Lake.
Eustis Mayor Michael Holland also spoke and had a warning for anyone who commits a crime in Eustis, “We will catch you,” he said.
Police had not released a motive in the shooting and Capri said even with this arrest, the investigation is ongoing.
MOUNT DORA, Florida—A Groveland Police Department officer is under internal investigation and on paid administrative leave after he was arrested last week for felony domestic battery by strangulation.
Joshua Allen Somers, 48, a six-year veteran of GPD and a school resource officer at South Lake High School, was arrested after an altercation with his wife that was captured on surveillance video at a popular restaurant and bar in Mount Dora. The video captured him grabbing her by the hair, striking her head against a wooden guardrail and putting his hand around her neck, according to an arrest affidavit.
On July 18, MDPD responded to Frogger’s Bar and Grill, 4931 Lake Park Court after a report of a fight. The manager said at around 6:25 p.m. he was made aware of a fight on the patio and when he walked out, no one was fighting but there was a lot of yelling between a customer he knew as Joshua and someone else whose name is redacted from the affidavit. Although the victim’s name is redacted from the affidavit due to Marsy’s Law, it does state she later told MDPD officers she has been married to Somers for about 10 years. The pair left before the manager could talk to them about what happened, but the video confirmed the allegations and the manager told employees to call police, according to the affidavit.
Somers was identified by full name through his credit card receipt and officers found he worked for GPD during a social media search. Officers then confirmed his employment with GPD.
MDPD spoke to several witnesses and also viewed the video that showed the victim sitting on the patio, near wooden guardrails. In the video, Somers, who appeared to be angry, approached the victim and had what police believe was a brief conversation with her; the video did not capture audio from the incident. Somers then walks toward the side entrance, abruptly stops and walks back over to the victim, the affidavit states.
Somers is seen placing his ear directly in front of the victim’s mouth “in an apparent attempt to intimidate her from speaking,” he then grabs her hair and forcibly hits her head against the railing and finally places his hand around her neck “in a fashion consistent with strangulation,” the arresting officer wrote in the affidavit.
MDPD found that Somers lives in Eustis and contacted the Eustis Police Department road patrol sergeant on duty who approved MDPD to respond to the home. Accompanied by EPD officers, MDPD spoke with Somers, who said he was at Frogger’s with the victim and said he was in an argument with her but was “adamant” he had “simply” grabbed her hair and not battered her in any other manner. “During this conversation it was evident that Joshua was heavily intoxicated and likely not going to provide any further pertinent information regarding the investigation,” the arresting officer noted in the affidavit.
Police spoke with the victim, who was also heavily intoxicated and “extremely hesitant” to speak to them about the incident but did say he grabbed her by the hair. Officers explained they had watched a video of the altercation and she became upset and stopped providing information to the officers who observed minor redness around her neck. Somers was arrested for battery by strangulation and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was later released on $2,000 bond.
Inside Lake reached out to GPD to ask about the arrest and status of Somers’ employment.
“On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, the Groveland Police Department was informed that one of our officers had been arrested for a domestic violence-related offense. The charges are concerning and do not reflect our values or the high level of service and conduct to which we hold our employees, both on and off-duty. Per department policy, the officer was immediately placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation to be conducted by Mount Dora Police Department and any subsequent internal administrative investigation to be concluded by members of the Groveland Police Department. All charges against our employees – especially those of this nature – are taken very seriously and every member of our team will be held accountable for their actions,” GPD said in a statement.
Somers has not had any previous disciplinary actions during his employment at GPD.
EUSTIS, Florida—The name of the man shot and killed in Eustis Wednesday morning has been released.
Eddie Alexis Vazquez Muniz, 47, succumbed to gunshot wounds after being transported to a local hospital Wednesday following the altercation. According to Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri, Muniz had been in an ongoing dispute with the shooter for several months over a woman and was waiting for the shooter to walk out of his apartment at about 7 a.m. Wednesday. Muniz put his two young children in a vehicle and set up a tripod with his phone to record the altercation and attacked the 31-year-old shooter when he came out of his apartment. The shooter had a permit to carry the gun and he has been released from custody.
He called 9-1-1 after the shooting and is cooperating with police. He was questioned Wednesday and has since been released.
Listen to the 9-1-1 call below.
“We feel very comfortable our shooter is actually the victim,” Capri said.
Capri said the police were not aware of the ongoing feud between the pair until it escalated into the shooting Wednesday.
“Today it escalated when our person who is deceased initiated this confrontation today and basically attacked our shooter, hit him multiple times in the head with what appeared to be brass knuckles or some other type of weapon. We found a pair of brass knuckles next to the deceased. He proceeded to chase our shooter around the apartment complex, striking him several times in the head,” Capri said Wednesday afternoon.
Brass knuckles found near the deceased Wednesday morning. PHOTO: Eustis Police Department
The victim was dazed from the multiple blows to his head and when saw Muniz reach into his waistband, he was in fear for his life and pulled his own firearm and fired multiple shots striking Muniz.
An employee of Countryside Diner, 1602 State Road 19, Eustis, who wished to remain anonymous, was outside on the phone when she heard multiple gunshots ring out behind the restaurant and saw people running. She rushed inside to tell several EPD road patrol officers who were eating breakfast at the restaurant what she heard and locked the back door, she told Inside Lake.
She said all the officers ran outside toward where the gunfire came from, Devonshire Apartments, 1799 County Road 19A and one officer quickly returned to his patrol vehicle to grab his medical kit.
“When I saw the yellow tape go up, I knew something was going on,” she said.
EUSTIS, Florida—A man has died following an altercation over what police believe is a love triangle, according to Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri.
EPD responded to Devonshire Apartments, 1799 North 19A, Eustis around 7 a.m. Wednesday and found a man, 47, who had been shot multiple times. Emergency responders rendered aid to the man and transported him to an area hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds, Capri said.
The shooter is in custody, and police have recovered the firearm, but EPD is not calling him a suspect yet because the investigation is still ongoing and active, and it may be a self-defense situation. At this time, police believe the deceased man and the shooter, a 31-year-old man, were fighting over a female and it escalated into the shooting; this has been an ongoing issue between the pair, Capri said.
“It appears to be a dispute over a woman, and there is no threat to the public,” Capri told Inside Lake.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Florida—A Eustis man who had two 3-month-old infant boys and a 5-year-old boy in a pickup truck with him was killed Tuesday morning when he crashed into a utility pole attached to a tractor-trailer, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The Eustis man, 34, was driving a 2016 Dodge Ram 1500 eastbound on State Road 44, near Paradise Drive, close to the Lake County/Volusia County line when he attempted to pass a commercial vehicle and a tractor-trailer at the same time, FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi said in a press release.
“Due to oncoming traffic in the westbound lane of travel, (the Eustis man) swerved back into the eastbound lane of travel,” Crescenzi said.
The Eustis man failed to slow down or stop for the tractor-trailer ahead of him and the windshield of the Ram struck a utility pole attached to the tractor-trailer and then the Ram rear-ended the tractor-trailer. The Eustis man was pronounced deceased on the scene, and his passengers, two 3-month-old boys and a 5-year-old boy were not injured. All three boys were transported to Halifax Health Medical Center as a precaution, Crescenzi said.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 25-year-old DeLand man, was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.
An earlier version of this story misidentified the deceased dog due to an error in the arrest affidavit. The dog’s name is Mary.
SORRENTO, Florida—A Sorrento man is in the Lake County Jail after he admitted shooting his neighbor’s dogs Saturday night, killing 13-year-old Mary, according to an arrest affidavit.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to Holopaw Trail in Sorrento shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday after the victim reported her neighbor, Sheldon Keith Hayward, 65, had shot her dogs, killing one of them. The woman told LCSO she let the dogs out in her backyard and did not realize her gate was open. The dogs apparently escaped through the open gate and when her daughter went to look for the pups, she found one of the dogs, Mary, dead, about 5 feet from the road. The victim said the dogs were not aggressive.
The victim’s daughter said when she exited the house, she heard a gunshot but did not realize at first Hayward had shot her dogs. She walked toward the road and found Manny the dog dead from a gunshot wound to the head and a second dog, Miller, also shot near the road. When the victim and her husband went to retrieve Miller, Hayward pointed a gun at them, according to the affidavit. The victim’s husband was unable to speak to deputies because he was at the animal hospital with Miller.
LCSO walked over to Hayward’s home to interview him and found a pool of blood “within seven steps from the road,” and walked another 15 to 20 yards to Hayward’s gate. He stepped out of his home and told deputies a group of aggressive dogs came over to his home and one of the dogs jumped on his fence but did not growl or bark at him. Hayward said he grabbed a shovel to attempt to scare the dogs, but they did not leave, and he grabbed his recently purchased rifle and shot at the dogs approximately five times. He told deputies he was within his fence when he shot the dogs.
Hayward was arrested for two counts of animal cruelty and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was transported to LCJ, where he is being held on $150,000 bond.
LAKE COUNTY, Florida—A six-year, multi-state drug trafficking investigation has resulted in the indictments of 17 people—most with ties to Lake County.
According to the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began investigating Dudzinski Poole, aka “Zink” aka “Dirty” who they say is responsible for trafficking thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine and fentanyl on commercial planes, trains and through the mail, according to a press release. The defendants in the case played different roles in the drug trafficking organization, including suppliers, distributors, couriers and courier coordinators. Each defendant is charged with drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Poole and Wildwood resident, Melvin Tyrone Patterson Jr., 31, aka “Goon” are also facing charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Each defendant is facing 10 years to life in federal prison.
Authorities say under the direction of Poole, couriers flew to California from Florida with large sums of money to buy drugs and transported the drugs back to Florida through checked luggage.
“The flights were typically between the Orlando International airport (MCO) in Florida and the Palm Springs Airport (PS) or the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in California,” the press release stated.
More than 350 flights were taken during a two-year period, flight records show, and trains were used to transport large amounts of methamphetamine from Orlando to Virginia. In April 2022, a courier was arrested at Virginia train station with approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine.
Poole and his co-conspirators had multiple stash houses and received hundreds of mailed packages that contained 1 to 10 pounds of methamphetamine from California and fentanyl and other drugs were mailed from China. Poole provided various addresses to ship the drugs to and investigators identified nearly 400 packages that were shipped from 2021 to 2023.
Dudzinski “Zink” Poole PHOTO: Zink Poole/Facebook
Poole, well-known in Lake County, especially in Mount Dora and Eustis, is listed on Sunbiz as the registered agent of Munyun Entertainment LLC. Authorities say he used the business to promote concerts with legitimate music artists and paid them with the proceeds from drug sales. He comingled drug proceeds with the profits from the ticket sales in the same business account. Many of these concerts were held in Eustis and Mount Dora.
Along with Poole and Patterson, 12 of the 17 defendant’s names have been released.
Andrew Woodruff Jr., 38, aka “Smurf” of Mount Dora. Woodruff was arrested by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in June 2022 in another large-scale drug investigation, “Operation Sneak-A-Peek,” and has remained in the Lake County Jail since his arrest.
Michael Andre Chester, 48, aka “Dre” of Apopka.
Samantha Tiesha King, 32, aka “Mamp” of Altamonte Springs.
Felisha Denise Williams, 34, aka “Little Momma” of Apopka.
Rodrieka Lashay Manning, 25, aka “Drieka” of Apopka.
Janice Denise Anderson, 65, aka “Butter” of Mount Dora.
Oveda Denise Miller, 60, aka “Gangsta Granny” of Mount Dora.
Roland Richardson, 63, of Mount Dora.
Latonya Sharee Conley, 46, aka “Hershey” of Mount Dora.
George Nelvin King Jr., 46, of Altamonte Springs.
Jose Ivan Carbajal, 33, aka “Primo” of California.
Diego Navarro-Martinez, 32, aka “Shooter” of California.
EUSTIS, Florida—A Winter Park woman has claimed a $1 million prize from the Florida Lottery she won from a ticket she purchased in unincorporated Eustis, according to the Florida Lottery.
Mary Walker, 56, of Winter Park, bought the $10 DIAMOND MINE 20X ticket at Circle K, 31734 East State Road 44, in the Pine Lakes area of unincorporated Eustis and recently claimed her prize. She chose to take her winnings in a one-time lump sum payment of $695,000 and claimed it at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee.
Circle K may be the lucky spot. A sign was spotted at the store located at 2754 East Orange Avenue, Eustis, near Abrams Road this week stating the store sold a $1 million winning ticket. The lucky person who bought that ticket remains a mystery.
EUSTIS, Florida—An Altoona man remains in the Lake County Jail after trespassing at a downtown Eustis park less than 12 hours after he was told to stay away by Eustis Police Department.
EPD officers trespassed Wayne Anthony Sarlo, 47, from Ferran Park in downtown Eustis at 8:45 p.m. Friday and around 8:30 a.m. Saturday an EPD sergeant spotted Sarlo and thought he looked suspicious. Upon checking Sarlo’s name, the sergeant found Sarlo had just been trespassed from the park the night before.
Sarlo was arrested and transported to LCJ, where he is being held on $1,000 bond.
