Lake County

More details released in deputy-involved shooting, suspect has history of domestic violence

DeLAND, Fla.—The suspect shot by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies Tuesday night pointed a rifle at deputies before he was shot, according to LCSO.

Around 8:10 p.m., LCSO responded to a domestic battery at 31801 Division Street in the DeLand area of Lake County. A woman reported her husband, Harold Malcolm Hughes, 62, was drunk and threw a hot coffee pot at her. The victim was able to escape the home and spoke with deputies at an undisclosed location near her home, LCSO said. Deputies went to the home to attempt to speak with Hughes, who exited the residence holding a rifle in his hands. He ignored deputies’ commands to put the rifle down.

“Mr. Hughes ignored the repeated verbal commands, where he leveled the rifle at deputies, LCSO Public Information Officer Deputy Stephanie Earley said. “Two deputies were forced to discharge their firearms, striking Mr. Hughes.”

Harold Hughes is seen here in a 2024 booking photo from a prior arrest.

The deputies were not injured and rendered aid to Hughes. He was transported by air to HCA Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford, where he remained Wednesday, Earley said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement responded to the scene Tuesday night and is investigating the shooting, standard procedure in all law enforcement-involved shootings. The deputies who fired their weapons are on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, also standard procedure.

Hughes is facing several charges, including two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and domestic battery, and will be held on no bond upon his release from the hospital.  Hughes has been arrested multiple times in Lake County since 2022, all for domestic violence related crimes. He was arrested in 2024 after being accused of pointing a gun at his wife and calling her racial slurs. That charge was later dropped. In 2023, his wife was granted an injunction for protection, Hughes was arrested for violating that injunction and it was dissolved in early 2024, according to Lake County Clerk of Court online records.

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BREAKING NEWS: 911 down across Central Florida

Update: 911 services have been restored. 

TAVARES, Fla.—The 911 system across Central Florida is down and residents are urged to use text to 911 to report an emergency.

All emergency and non-emergency phone lines are down, officials said. Cell phone and landline calls were intermittent at press time and dispatchers are monitoring calls and attempting to return dropped or missed calls.

The cause of the outage has not been released.

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Truck set ablaze after fatal crash, Eustis man turns himself in to troopers

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.—A Eustis man is behind bars in Orange County after fleeing a crash that killed an Orlando bicyclist Monday.

Around 9:15 a.m., Jermaine Williams, 42, was driving a Dodge Ram southbound on South Orange Blossom Trail in Orange County and failed to stop for a bicyclist traveling westbound in the crosswalk at 43rd Street. The Dodge struck the 43-year-old bicyclist, and he was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center and pronounced deceased, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Williams fled the scene and Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies soon located the Dodge on fire behind a nearby business. FHP took the truck as evidence and Williams later contacted FHP and turned himself in, FHP said. He was arrested for leaving the scene of a crash with death and booked into the Orange County Jail, where he is being held on no bond.

“This case remains an active criminal investigation and further charges are pending,” FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi said.

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14-year-old boy shot in Eustis Sunday, police investigating

EUSTIS, Fla.—Eustis Police Department is investigating a shooting that sent a teenager to the hospital by helicopter Sunday night.

According to a heavily-redated report, around 8:45 p.m., EPD responded to a report of a 14-year-boy who had been shot on Hazzard Avenue. As officers arrived, a woman flagged officers down and said the teen was inside a home, suffering from a gunshot wound.

Police entered the home and found the boy lying on his back with a gunshot wound to his inner thigh, according to a report. An officer rendered aid, applied pressure to the wound until Lake EMS arrived and took over the boy’s care. He was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando for treatment.

Witnesses told police the suspects shot through the window of the home and another witness, whose name is redacted, said she was sitting on the couch and heard what she thought were fireworks. She then noticed an “impact” on the refrigerator and heard the teen yelling he had been shot from outside the home. She told police she and her two sons helped the boy into the home. She said ran down the street in an attempt to engage the shooter but was “unsuccessful in locating anyone or the vehicle,” the report states.

Later in the report, a woman whose name is also redacted, said she grabbed her firearm and pointed it at a fleeing vehicle but did not fire any shots. EPD refuses to confirm if the two women are one in the same, stating it’s, “part of the investigation.”

Several more witnesses provided possible suspect information to police and a neighbor provided a still shot from a security camera that showed a vehicle he told police had slowly passed by his home numerous times before the shooting occurred. The make and model of the vehicle is redacted from the report.

Multiple shell casings were found near the scene, but how many, the type and the exact location are also redacted from the report.

If you have information, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.

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BREAKING NEWS: 3 airlifted, one transported by ground after Eustis crash Monday morning

EUSTIS, Fla.—Three people were airlifted to area hospitals, and one person was transported by ground following a crash at State Road 44 and the Eustis bypass near the Eleven Oaks subdivision, shortly before 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, according to Eustis Police Department.

A witness told police a gold Dodge Ram had a green arrow and was turning westbound onto State Road 44/Orange Avenue from the Eleven Oaks subdivision when a red and white Ford F-150 traveling eastbound ran the light and collided with the Dodge. Three occupants in the Dodge were transported to area hospitals, two males of Eustis, aged 54 and 67, were transported by air and a 33-year-old man from Naples was transported by ground. The driver of the Ford, a 67-year-old man from Zellwood was also airlifted.

Courtesy photo

The crash closed the intersection for more than two hours and remains under investigation

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Eustis boy, 5, accidentally shoots himself Sunday, in stable condition

EUSTIS, Fla.—A Eustis boy is in stable condition after accidentally shooting himself in the head Sunday morning.

Around 9:15 a.m. Sunday, Eustis Police Department, Eustis Fire Department, Lake County Fire Rescue, Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Lake EMS quickly responded to the home on Hunter’s Trail and after the boy was stabilized, he was airlifted to an Orlando hospital by Air Care Team, EPD Chief Craig Capri said.

The boy’s name has not been released, and Capri said the investigation is still very active. The boy had surgery on Sunday and is now recovering.

“Our prayers are with the boy and his family. We wish him strength and a speedy recovery,” Capri said.

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Leesburg shooting victim identified, suspect facing murder charges

LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department has identified the man shot and killed Friday night.

Around 7 p.m., Dontae D. Copeland, 20, of Leesburg was found suffering from at least one gunshot wound in the 1000 block of Tuskegee Street, LPD Lt. Shannon Walsh said. Officers and EMS personnel rendered aid to Copeland, and he was transported to UF Health Leesburg Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

While investigating the murder Friday, Kameryn Pickard, 18, of Mount Dora, turned himself in with his father at LPD, Walsh said. He was later arrested for premeditated murder and conspiracy – solicit, and is being held at the Lake County Jail on no bond.

Previous story: Father turns son in after man shot and killed in Leesburg Friday night – Inside Lake

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Father turns son in after man shot and killed in Leesburg Friday night

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story inaccurately stated Kameryn Pickard’s age due to incorrect information released by Leesburg Police Department. The story has been updated with Pickard’s correct age. 

LEESBURG, Fla.—An 18-year-old Mount Dora man is facing charges for killing another man after his father turned him in to Leesburg police Friday.

Leesburg Police Department responded to a shooting in the 1000 block of Tuskegee Street around 7 p.m. Friday. When officers arrived, they found a 20-year-old man shot and officers, along with EMS, rendered aid to the man. He was transported to UF Health Leesburg Hospital and pronounced deceased. The man’s identity has not been released, pending notification of next of kin, LPD Lt. Shannon Walsh said.

While detectives and crime scene investigators were still on scene investigating the shooting, Kameryn Pickard’s father brought him to Leesburg Police Department and Pickard turned himself in, Walsh said.

“Detectives conducted an interview with Pickard and subsequently placed him under arrest, Walsh said. “Detectives are currently working with the State Attorney’s Office to determine the appropriate charges.”

At press time, Pickard had not been booked into the Lake County Jail.

LPD is asking anyone with information on the shooting to call them at 352-787-2121 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Crimeline callers may be eligible for a reward and can remain anonymous.

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Knife-wielding man shot at Mount Dora bus stop Thursday

MOUNT DORA, Fla.— A Winter Park man, arrested multiple times in Lake County, was shot in the leg at a Mount Dora bus stop Thursday morning and arrested, after accosting a man who first pepper-sprayed him, according to a report.

William Tyler Barrett, 29, is facing a charge of aggravated assault on a person over 65 years old and is being held on $10,000 bond. Curtis Roberson, 67, of Eustis, told Mount Dora Police Department he was leaving the parking lot of Walmart Supercenter, 17030 U.S. Highway 441, around 10 a.m. when Barrett approached him and made a comment he couldn’t make out. Roberson ignored him and kept walking to the bus stop located at U.S. Highway 441 and Spring Harbor Boulevard.

Barrett approached Roberson again at the bus stop, “behaving erratically” and accused Roberson of being at “his house,” the report states.

Barrett approached Roberson in an “aggressive manner” and Roberson emptied a canister of pepper spray and Barrett continued to approach him, now armed with a knife. Roberson told Barrett to “stop,” and “stay back,” multiple times and as Barrett advanced toward Roberson, he fired a single shot that struck Barrett in the leg, according to the report.

William Barrett is seen here in an October 2024 mugshot when he was picked up for a violation of probation. His most recent mugshot was not available at press time.

Barrett then left the scene and Roberson called police, along with an independent witness who saw the attack.

While officers and Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies spoke with Roberson, Barrett was located in the bushes at nearby Regions Bank. Mucus running from his nose and limping, Barrett told an MDPD officer he couldn’t see, and his eyes were hurting because he had been pepper-sprayed. The officer observed a knife and multiple bags around Barrett and once a deputy arrived, Barrett was detained, and the officer and deputy provided first aid to him, and they waited for EMS to arrive.

Barrett was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares for treatment, where he refused to cooperate with an officer at the hospital, only revealing his first name. He spoke in the third person about himself multiple times and told the officer he was preaching and repenting for his church. When asked who he was speaking to, Barrett reportedly said, the “spirit in the room.”

Later, Barrett told MDPD detectives he located Roberson and Roberson was a murderer and confronted him about why he was at his house. He said Roberson pulled out pepper spray and he pulled out a knife; and Roberson sprayed him and shot him in the leg. Barrett refused to answer any more of the detectives’ questions because he “did not like them,” according to the report. Barrett was placed under arrest and an emergency room doctor told police he would be initiating a Baker Act.

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Deputies break up large party outside Eustis Thursday night

EUSTIS, Fla.—Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies and surrounding law enforcement agencies broke up a large party Thursday night after receiving information from a law enforcement agency in a neighboring county, according to a report.

Around 10:20 p.m., Apopka Police Department (APD) shared information with LCSO it received about a large party of more than 200 teenagers who were reportedly coming from Aquatica in Orlando and headed to a party at a home at 34500 Tree Frog Lane in unincorporated Eustis. Some of that information included tips about weapons in multiple vehicles headed to the party that was promoted on social media, according to an LCSO report.

Deputies responded to Tree Frog Lane and nearby intersections and observed a heavy traffic back-up in the eastbound lane of State Road 44, attempting to turn onto Tree Frog Lane, the report states. LCSO’s watch commander requested help from surrounding agencies, and they responded, and assisted with traffic and crowd control on State Road 44 and nearby businesses.

While on scene, LCSO received a call from Donald Reagan, the owner of the home according to property tax records, requesting a well-being check on his wife, Kristen. Deputies confirmed she was OK, and she said gave a friend permission to host a “small party” of no more than 50 people; but partygoers told deputies the house was an Airbnb, and it was rented for the party, according to the report. The 6-bedroom, 5.5 bath house is currently listed for sale for nearly $1.2 million. Deputies and officers dispersed the crowd and stayed in the area until traffic was clear.

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