TAVARES, Fla.—There’s a new pup strutting his stuff through Lake County, sniffing out electronics and working economic crimes, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Electric Detection K9 Code—pronounced “Cody” — a 2-year-old Labrador retriever, will be working alongside his handler, Investigator Dunn, in the Economic Crime Unit, specializing in cryptocurrency investigations, LCSO Public Information Officer Deputy Stephanie Earley said.
“With a strong background in criminal investigations, Investigator Dunn took on the unique role of working with K9 Code,” Earley said. “Together, Investigator Dunn and K9 Code completed an intensive certification process, spending hundreds of hours side by side.”
PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
At 18 months old, Code and Dunn participated in an intensive 5-month training program in Indiana, enduring long hours and no days off. During that training, Code mastered locating electronic devices, including cell phones, hard drives and SIM cards, essential evidence in a variety of offenses such as child pornography, fraud and financial crimes. Earning a perfect score during certification, Code successfully detected items underwater and in ceiling tiles. He is also trained to search vehicles, open fields, and even people, Earley said.
In his off time, Code enjoys relaxing with a blanket on the couch and playing with his favorite ball.
TAVARES, Fla.—An arrest warrant has been obtained for the brother-in-law of a Eustis woman found murdered in May.
Monica Islam, 44, was found shot to death near Scenic Hills Drive and Wolf Branch Road outside of Mount Dora around 7:30 a.m. May 2 after vanishing from Shell, 1701 South Bay Street, Eustis around 6 a.m. the same morning.
According to the missing person report obtained by Inside Lake, Islam’s daughter, Rimi Islam, reported her mother missing around 8:30 a.m. May 2. She told Eustis Police Department they left their home around 5:30 a.m. and arrived at Shell shortly after. She said her mom helped her with opening the store and then she went outside to take a walk around the parking lot, which was normal behavior.
Rimi Islam told police she got busy and lost track of where her mom was. Another employee told Rimi Islam she saw Monica Islam in the parking lot as she arrived at work, around 6:10 a.m. Rimi Islam tried calling her mom, who had left her purse behind at the store, and was unable to reach her. After going back to the home they shared and looking for Monica Islam and checking security cameras for her with no success, Rimi Islam reported her missing to EPD. While investigating Monica’s disappearance, EPD was made aware of a body found near Mount Dora; later identified as Monica Islam.
Eustis Police Department investigates after Monica Islam was reported missing May 2, 2025, Courtesy photo
Islam was found in Lake County Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction; deputies responded to the scene and detectives took over the investigation. Through its investigation, LCSO found that Monica Islam had been the victim of a domestic violence committed by her husband, Rashedul Islam, and his brother Shahidul Islam in December 2024, in Eustis, LCSO Capt. John Herrell said in a press release.
In that incident, Rashedul Islam reportedly struck his wife and stole jewelry and paperwork related to a property in Bangladesh. Shahidul Islam pointed a gun at his sister-in-law and told her not to call 911, Herrell said. It was reported to EPD and Rashedul Islam fled the country before he was arrested.
Detectives also uncovered Shahidul Islam had previously been deported and had an immigration warrant for illegally reentering the United states, Herrell said.
Using information from license plate readers (LPR,) detectives connected Shahidul Islam to a home in Sanford and later found out he fled to New York in a rental car. U.S. Marshals located him, he was taken into custody on the federal immigration warrant and has remained in federal custody since May 6, according to Herrell.
“He will be served the homicide warrant and extradited back to Lake County once all the federal requirements related to his immigration status have been satisfied,” Herrell said.
TAVARES, Florida— A man arrested many times for multiple felonies but seldom convicted in past cases, was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 15 years in prison stemming from a 2023 case, according to the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
Emmanuel Cazeau, now 41, of Eustis, was pulled over in June 2023 by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies for a minor traffic offense as he pulled out of Circle K, at the corner of County Road 44 and County Road 473 in unincorporated Leesburg, according to an arrest affidavit.
Deputies asked for consent to search Cazeau’s vehicle, which he denied, and K9 Jim and his handler performed an open-air sniff on the vehicle. K9 Jim alerted to the odor of narcotics and Cazeau and his passenger were removed from the vehicle. Deputies searched the vehicle and found a small bag of a purple substance weighing 13 grams that field-tested positive for the deadly drug fentanyl, the affidavit states. Cazeau was taken into custody and arrested for trafficking in fentanyl.
After a two-day trial earlier this month, Cazeau was convicted of trafficking in fentanyl and heroin and possession of methamphetamine by a Lake County jury, and sentence to 15 years in prison by Circuit Judge James Baxley on Monday.
According to Lake County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, prior to this case, Cazeau had been arrested in Lake County seven times since 2019 for multiple offenses including drug trafficking and felony battery; the charges were dropped in each case, according to Lake County Clerk of Court online records.
LEESBURG, Fla.—A report of person who was possibly armed locked down an elementary school and a middle school in Leesburg Thursday morning, according to Leesburg Police Department.
Around 8:30 a.m., someone reported seeing an individual who was possibly armed near Leesburg Elementary School (LES) on South Street and officers were immediately dispatched to LES and nearby Oak Park Middle School, LPD said. Both schools were placed on lockdown and LPD and Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies conducted a thorough search of school grounds and the surrounding area, on foot and with the assistance of drones and LCSO’s helicopter, Eagle One. No one was found on school grounds. Officers located an individual on Lone Oak Drive in possession of an airsoft gun, and that individual is still under investigation, LPD said.
MOUNT DORA, Fla. — A Tennessee man who police say hit three vehicles, two AC units and house while taking a drunken ride through Mount Dora and Eustis, has been released from the Lake County Jail on $9,000 bond.
Shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, Mount Dora Police Department responded to a hit-and-run that reportedly occurred at 4th Avenue and Donnelly Street in downtown Mount Dora. The victim in that crash told police the front of a grey Polaris Slingshot struck the corner of the front bumper of his truck, causing approximately $2,000 in damage. The victim said the Slingshot sped off and almost hit another vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit.
While investigating that crash, dispatch received two more calls about hit-and-run crashes, one at State Road 44 and County Road 44B, near Circle K, where a vehicle was rear-ended and the third crash, 1.5 miles away at Eleven Oaks Circle and State Road 44, where another vehicle was rear-ended. The Slingshot took off down Eleven Oaks Circle until finally it crashed into two outdoor AC units and a home at 66 Eleven Oaks Circle, Eustis, causing an estimated $12,000 in damage, the affidavit states. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Eustis Police Department assisted MDPD with the incident.
Law enforcement officers from Mount Dora Police Department, Eustis Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office line the street near 66 Eleven Oaks Circle in Eustis. Courtesy photo
The driver, identified as Canon Thomas Cofrancesco, 38, of Chattanooga Tenn., fled the scene on foot and jumped a fence before he was apprehended by an LCSO deputy. Cofrancesco, who had a strong odor of alcohol emitting from his breath, was detained and placed into the back of an LCSO patrol car. An MDPD officer later assisted Cofrancesco out of the patrol car while he reportedly slurred his words and stated, “These are my friends,” and said an officer has “very pretty eyes,” according to the affidavit.
An MDPD officer assisted Cofrancesco out of the LCSO patrol car and read him his rights. He refused to pay attention, refused field sobriety exercises and could not stand still, the officer noted. He was placed into an MDPD patrol unit for transport to LCJ and kicked the officer’s door. When they arrived at LCJ, Cofrancesco allegedly said he would kill law enforcement, the affidavit states.
While at the jail, the arresting officer conducted a 20-minute observation on Cofrancesco and then a breath test was conducted. More than 1.5 hours after the initial crash, Cofrancesco blew a .291 at 6:39 p.m. and .285 and 6:43 p.m., according to the affidavit—both samples more than three times the legal limit.
Cofrancesco was arrested for DUI (second offense,) DUI with property damage, reckless driving with property damage and three counts of leaving the scene of a crash.
TAVARES, Fla.—A suspected dog fighter arrested last month has lost ownership of the 29 dogs taken from him during a search at his home in east Lake County, after a Lake County judge granted an injunction Thursday, filed by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Jason Biggers, 48, is facing 29 counts of animal cruelty and 29 counts baiting and fighting animals after a search warrant at his home in the DeLand area of Lake County by the Lake County Sheriff’s office Agriculture and Marine Unit July 23.
Deputies arrived at the home at 31938 3rd Avenue in the DeLand area of Lake County shortly after 4:45 a.m. and found 29 dogs chained up and in kennels, LCSO Deputy Stephanie Earley told Inside Lake. The majority of them had scarring consistent with dog fighting and were in various stages of healing, she said. The dogs have been held at the Lake County Animal Shelter since they were seized and Judge Carla Pepperman’s order gives LCAS custody of the dogs that range in age from puppies to 8 years old.
According to Pepperman’s order, after being examined, the dogs were found with ”healed and active wounds consistent with organized fighting, dental alterations consistent with bait dog use, environmental and hygienic neglect, flea infestation, lymph node reactivity, as well as overheating and elevated body temperatures. The maladies were attributed to chronic environmental neglect, prolonged exposure to unsanitary and inhumane living conditions, intentional trauma consistent with organized dog fighting, and systematic physical alterations (dental) consistent with baiting practices.”
PHOTO: Lake County Animal Shelter
Pepperman stated, “(Biggers) failed to meet his burden to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he is able and fit to have custody of and adequately provide for the Dogs. Indeed, besides (Biggers’) self-serving testimony,(Biggers) called no witnesses and presented no evidence.”
Along with the dog-related charges, Biggers, 48, is facing a tampering with evidence charge and a charge of possession of marijuana more than 20 grams; he is being held at the Lake County Jail on $150,000 bond.
“Despite what these dogs may have endured, they have warmly received affection and are largely in good spirits,” LCAS said in a social media post last month.
You can support these pups by donating treats, toys, or peanut butter via LCAS’ Amazon Wish List at https://ow.ly/nZ2x50VPtCr or by dropping off supplies at the shelter. For more information on fostering or adopting, visit: https://lakecountyfl.gov/animal-shelter
MINNEOLA, Fla.—It’s been one year since Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the call that claimed the life of Master Deputy Bradley Link and Saturday, a stretch of U.S. Highway 27 in Minneola was renamed in his honor.
The Minneola City Council adopted the resolution earlier this year that renamed the portion of the roadway between Division Street and County Road 561. Link’s parents, Daniel and Christi, accepted the resolution and were in attendance for the official renaming on Saturday, along with Link’s wife, Brittany, members of LCSO’s command staff and numerous deputies. Minneola Mayor Pat Kelley led the ceremony, which included an invocation by LCSO Chaplain Joshua Douglas, and remarks were given by LCSO Major Todd English, Pamela Jones of Congressman Daniel Webster’s office, and State Representative Taylor Yarkosky.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Master Deputy Bradley Link’s parents, Christi and Daniel. Photo courtesy of Shannon Cook
On Aug. 2, 2024, deputies responded to an altercation in unincorporated Eustis and subsequent well-being check. Link and K9 Master Deputy Harold Howell, along with several other deputies, were performing the well-being check at the home Julie and Michael Sulpizio shared with their adult daughters, Savannah and Cheyenne Sulpizio, following a Baker Act of Julie Sulpizio. After finding two dead dogs in the yard and a window with a broken screen, Link made multiple unanswered announcements over his PA system, at the home located at 38144 Brookside Drive. Link, Howell and three other deputies attempted to enter the Sulpizio home shortly after 9 p.m. They entered through the rear door near the driveway that opened to a small laundry room and into a hallway that goes left and right.
Link approached the hallway and announced he was going left and indicated Howell should go right. As Link walked into the hallway, his bodycam picked up several frames of what appeared to be a male wearing a black shirt or body armor, with a rifle, positioned on the arm of a couch, ready to ambush deputies. Link did not see the man because he was looking left down the hallway, and the bodycam was facing forward, Sheriff Peyton Grinnell said last year.
Link entered the hallway and the suspect, believed to be Michael Sulpizio, opened fire, shooting Link in the back several times, and Howell was shot in the arm. Howell and the other deputies were forced to retreat out of the residence and Link was immobilized, suffering multiple gunshot wounds. He attempted to crawl on his back to cover but was unsuccessful. Link emptied his duty weapon of all rounds, Grinnell said, and moved his hand in what appeared to be an attempt to answer his radio as his ID number was called out but was also unsuccessful. He was shot several more times.
Link’s bodycam continued to record audio and video and was pointed toward the ceiling, and at 9:24 p.m., a female yelled, “My king kill all of you. You are Lucifer’s children,” in response to deputies asking for Link’s release.
Two minutes later, the Street Crimes team, comprised of Deputy Stefano Gargano, Deputy Corey LaBrecque, Deputy Matthew Green and Cpl. Tyler Palmer, entered the home, with Gargano in the lead using a ballistic shield as cover. It was later revealed Gargano insisted he go first because he was the only member of the team who did not have children. As he approached the threshold of the hallway, Gargano was shot through the wall multiple times by high-caliber rounds, causing him to become incapacitated. The team returned fire and extracted Gargano. LaBrecque immediately began assessing and treating Gargano’s injuries and accompanied Gargano in the ambulance as he was transported to HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital as a trauma alert.
Top: Deputy Stefano Gargano; Deputy Corey LaBrecque Bottom: Deputy Matthew Green; Cpl. Tyler Palmer PHOTOS: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Just after 11 p.m. deputies heard two rapid gunshots and a third shot a few minutes later and LCSO’s SWAT Team ripped a wall off the residence and extracted Link. He was rushed to a waiting ambulance for transport to a landing zone so he could be flown out for treatment. While en route, the decision was made to transport him to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares, where he was ultimately pronounced deceased.
As the SWAT Team cleared the home, they found two deceased females, identified as Savannah and Cheyenne Sulpizio, on the couch, dead from what appeared to be self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head. Michael Sulpizio was found on the couch with a gunshot wound and a faint pulse. He was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased.
A search of the home revealed a stockpile of 20 firearms placed strategically around the home. Ammunition, food and water, medical bags and bugout bags, in addition to anti-government propaganda were also found. No illegal drugs were found in the home. Accused of the plotting the crimes, Julie Sulpizio was later arrested for a multitude of charges. She’s been found incompetent to stand trial twice and was involuntarily committed to the Department of Children and Families in late May.
If found competent at a later date, she is facing charges of principal to first degree murder of a law enforcement officer, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, three counts of principal to attempted first degree murder of a law enforcement officer, three counts of battery and one count of battery on a law enforcement officer
Gargano returned to light duty in May and Howell continues to recover from his injuries.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misstated Jason Biggers’ bond and did not list two charges because he had not completed the booking process. The story has been updated with the correct information.
DeLAND, Fla.—A suspected dog fighter has been arrested and is facing 29 counts of animal cruelty and 29 counts baiting and fighting animals following the execution of search warrant by the Lake County Sheriff’s office Agriculture and Marine Unit early Wednesday morning.
Deputies arrived at the home at 31938 3rd Avenue in the DeLand area of Lake County shortly after 4:45 a.m. and found 29 dogs chained up and in kennels, LCSO Deputy Stephanie Earley told Inside Lake. The dogs ranged in age from puppies to elderly dogs, and the majority of them had scarring consistent with dog fighting and were in various stages of healing, she said. The dogs are being held at the Lake County Animal Shelter.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Agriculture Marine Unit executed a search warrant at a home near DeLand early Wednesday. Jason Biggers was arrested on 29 counts of animal cruelty and 29 counts of baiting and fighting animals. Photo courtesy of Jason Templeton
Jason Biggers, 48, was arrested and transported to Lake County Jail, where he is being held on $150,000. He is also facing a tampering with evidence charge and possession of marijuana more than 20 grams. Deputies are asking anyone with information on Biggers’ activities to call them at 352-343-2101 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Crimeline callers may be eligible for a reward.
EUSTIS, Fla.—The father of the young boy who found a gun under a pillow and shot himself last month has turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Dexter Demond Neal, who has cooperated with the investigation, turned himself in early Sunday evening at the Lake County Jail on a warrant for child neglect and culpable negligence and is being held on no bond, Eustis Police Department Chief Craig Capri told Inside Lake. Inside Lake was the first to report Neal’s son shot himself in the head after finding an unsecured firearm June 29 at his home on Hunters Trail Circle.
Capri said Neal, 49, often slept with his autistic son, whose name has not been released, and on June 28 he went to bed with a firearm beneath a pillow, something he told police he had never done before. He got up the next morning to assist his wife and make his children breakfast, forgetting the gun was in the room. The boy and his sibling were eating while Neal turned his attention to assisting his wife. Soon, he heard the gunshot and immediately ran into the bedroom to his son and began to render aid.
A female 911 caller reported she heard a gunshot and said her 5-year-old brother was bleeding profusely, and a second caller, a neighbor who is a police officer in a neighboring county, stated a juvenile sustained a gunshot wound above his left eye and it appeared to be self-inflicted. He told dispatch his wife, an off-duty flight nurse, was rendering aid to the boy and he was getting his first-aid kit. Eustis Police Department quickly responded to the home around 9:15 a.m.
When police arrived, the boy was lying on the hood of a vehicle while the flight nurse was applying pressure to his wound and “QuikClot.” QuikClot is a brand of hemostatic dressings designed to rapidly control bleeding by accelerating the body’s natural clotting process, according to the company’s website.
The Air Care Team transports a 5-year-old Eustis boy to Orlando after he shot himself in the head last month. PHOTO: Carl Fowler/Inside Lake contributor
Neal was with his son, emotionally distraught and he “remained focused on his son’s well-being,” an EPD report states. The boy was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando for treatment and has since been released. He’s recovering in an undisclosed physical therapy facility, Capri said. ”He’s doing better than expected and we ask the community to continue to pray for him.”
EUSTIS, Fla.—The Florida Highway Patrol in investigating a crash that killed a Eustis man Friday afternoon.
According to FHP, a 2013 Freightliner tractor-trailer being driven by a 78-year-old Orlando man was westbound on County Road 44A when it collided with a Dodge Ram just after 2 p.m. A witness told troopers the Freightliner ran the red light to turn left on County Road 439, in the direct path of a 56-year-old Eustis man driving the Dodge.
The Florida Highway Patrol and a Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy block traffic while FHP investigates a fatal crash Friday afternoon. PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake
The Eustis man was transported to HCA Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford, where he was pronounced deceased. The Orlando man was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares with non-life-threatening injuries. Both men were wearing their seatbelts, FHP said.
Only Inside Lake was on scene as a trooper and a Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy blocked the north end of County Road 439 and the eastbound lane of County Road 44A. Several more troopers arrived at the crash shortly before 4:30 p.m. The crash remains under investigation.
