Lake County

EUSTIS, Florida—An Ocala man is facing burglary and criminal mischief charges after he was found in a vehicle naked with several cuts following two calls to Eustis Police Department late Wednesday night.

EPD responded to two calls at Country Club Manor just after 10 p.m., one reporting a shirtless man inside a vehicle and a second call reporting a man broke a window and made threats, according to an arrest affidavit. Upon arrival, officers found Kendell Trimian Clark, 38, naked, sitting in a white Infiniti. Clark, who was hot and sweaty to the touch, was handcuffed and questioned by officers, according to the affidavit.

Speaking in a quiet, muffled voice and appearing to be confused and disoriented, Clark told EPD his clothes were behind a fence, but officers were unable to locate them. He had several small cuts on his stomach and a three-inch cut on his right thigh; when officers asked how he was injured he told them he was trying to harm himself, the affidavit states. Lake EMS and Umatilla Fire Department arrived on scene to assist.

Clark was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares and appeared to be hallucinating after he arrived at the hospital, the arresting officer noted. He was having conversations with himself and acting out sexual movements as if he was with a partner. Clark was later transported to the Lake County Jail.

EPD spoke with the complainant who said she was attempting to go to sleep when she heard a loud noise and observed a larger male in her white Nissan and told him she was calling law enforcement. The man fled south behind her home and the victim found that several sets of keys were missing from her vehicle.  The keys were later located in a neighbor’s driveway.

Officers spoke with the second complainant, and he said Clark beat on his door and then broke a window in his carport. Clark continued to break glass out of the window and yelled “Are you (expletive) with me? Give me your car keys, I want your car. If you don’t, I’ll kill you,” the affidavit states. The victim grabbed a kitchen knife for protection and as EPD arrived on scene, Clark fled.

Clark was arrested for burglary of an occupied structure and criminal mischief. He is being held in LCJ on $16,000 bond.

The following story was previously published on Lake Legal News.

EUSTIS, Florida — The first cousin of a man already charged in the shooting of a 32-year-old woman in Eustis last month was arrested Wednesday for principal to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

According to a probable cause affidavit, the shooting on January 27 was the culmination of a series of arguments and confrontations between the shooter, Keson Donaldson, who was arrested the same day as the shooting, and the victim, Santana Potts. On Wednesday, Eustis Police arrested Donaldson’s cousin, Keenon Maurice Benn, 20, of Eustis for allegedly giving Donaldson the gun he used to shoot Potts.

Donaldson told police he went to Myung Sung Store, 201 Palmetto Street, Eustis to make a purchase. As he was walking up to the store, Potts and three other people allegedly confronted Donaldson and he told them he did not want any trouble. According to Donaldson, Potts approached him with a pink eyebrow blade (described as a pink pocketknife by Donaldson) and swung her fist, slashing him in the face. Donaldson said he fell to the ground next to a gun and said he reached for the gun while other people were reaching for the same gun. In fear, Donaldson grabbed the gun and began firing in an unknown direction, the affidavit states.

But Potts told police a different story, according to a probable cause affidavit. She told police she pulled up to the store, backed her car in and saw her brother. While hanging out with her brother, two people began walking towards her; Benn, who is known by the nickname “Ooh” and another person who she eventually recognized as Donaldson. Potts questioned Benn why he would bring Donaldson there and Benn told her to forget about the earlier confrontation the pair had. As Donaldson and Benn were about to leave, Potts told Benn to, “remember what I told you.” Donaldson responded, “Oh, [expletive expletive expletive,] nobody worried about what you said.”

Potts and Donaldson continued to argue and Benn stood between the two and pushed Potts toward the road. Benn said, “Y’all don’t need to do this,” and Donaldson “mushed” Potts in the face, she told police. She described “mushing” as a closed fist punch, the affidavit states. She did have a bruise on her chin, police noted in the affidavit. Potts then sliced Donaldson in the face with a pink eyebrow blade. She told police she was in fear due to Donaldson’s previous threats and she felt she needed to defend herself.

Benn allegedly then reached into his pocket and handed Donaldson a gun; Potts walked towards Myung Sung Store and yelled out, “Boy, you better not shoot that gun.” Potts then heard a shot and did not feel anything, but felt a bullet hit her when Donaldson allegedly took the second shot, she said. Potts fell to the ground and heard more gunfire. She told police she believed eight rounds were fired in her direction. Four shell casings were found at the scene.

Potts was airlifted to a local hospital for her injuries. She suffered two gunshot wounds, one to the right arm and one under her armpit. The bullet that went in under her armpit collapsed part of her right lung and caused a spinal fracture. The bullet is still lodged under her heart, according to the affidavit.

Donaldson, 21, was arrested last month and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon the day of the shooting. He was released the same day on $20,000 bond. Benn was charged with principal to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was arrested Wednesday and released from the Lake County Jail on $10,000 bond.

“CID (Criminal Investigation Division) has concluded their investigation,“ Eustis Police Officer Lauren Brown said.”No other arrests will be made.”

The following story was previously published on Lake Legal News.

EUSTIS, Florida — Eustis Police Department has made an arrest in the shooting of a woman Monday afternoon.

According to an arrest report, EPD received a 9-1-1 call Monday stating a female had been shot and was in the area of Orange Avenue. As the call was being dispatched EPD officers heard screams for help coming from the police department lobby and an officer found Santana Potts, 32, in the lobby with one of her family members.

Potts, suffering from a gunshot wound to the right arm, told police she had been in an argument with Keson Jacqueze Donaldson, 21, of Mount Dora, and she heard two gunshots and may have seen a black vehicle speed away, according to an arrest affidavit.

Police responded to the scene near the corner of Palmetto Street and McDonald Avenue and found four shell casings from a small caliber firearm and a pink razorblade with dried blood. While working the scene, EPD received information Donaldson was at AdventHealth Waterman seeking treatment to a large laceration to his face. Donaldson’s mugshot shows a cut down the side of his face from his hairline nearly to the corner of his mouth.

Detectives responded to the hospital and Donaldson said he went to Myung Sung Store, 201 Palmetto Street, Eustis to make a purchase. As he was walking up to the store, Potts and three other people allegedly confronted Donaldson and he told them he did not want any trouble. According to Donaldson, Potts approached him with the pink razor blade (described as a pink pocketknife by Donaldson) and swung her fist, slashing him in the face. Donaldson said he fell to the ground next to a gun and said he reached for the gun while other people were reaching for the same gun. In fear, Donaldson grabbed the gun and began firing in an unknown direction, the affidavit states.

A witness told police he heard Donaldson and Potts arguing and heard Donaldson call Potts a name and then he raised a gun and fired four to five rounds at her, before getting into a small black car and fleeing the scene, a statement that conflicts with what Donaldson told police.

Donaldson agreed to come to EPD for additional questioning and gave police a statement that did not match the evidence from the scene and was inconsistent with his first statement, the arresting detective noted in the affidavit. Police believe Potts slashed Donaldson in the face; he retreated approximately 50 feet and then pulled out the gun and fired in a northern direction, striking Potts from behind.

Donaldson was charged with possession a firearm by a convicted felon and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was released from the Lake County Jail on $20,000 bond.

Detectives are scheduled to interview Potts sometime Wednesday, said EPD Officer Lauren Brown.