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Major law enforcement presence in missing Mount Dora mom’s former neighborhood Friday

Inside Scoop, Mount Dora / By

MOUNT DORA, Fla.—Multiple law enforcement agencies could be seen Friday searching multiple bodies of water in the neighborhood where Mount Dora mom Nicole Baldwin was reported missing in November 2023.

Dive teams from several Central Florida sheriff’s offices converged on Lancaster at Loch Leven beginning around 8 a.m. Friday and searched multiple bodies of water and retention ponds near Strathmore Circle where Baldwin was reported missing by her daughter Alisha Baldwin in early November 2023, Mount Dora Police Department Spokesperson Misty Sommer told Inside Lake Friday. Dive teams from Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Groveland Fire Department, and Search and Rescue of Central Florida, according to LCSO.

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Numerous residents reached out to Inside Lake Friday morning concerned about the large law enforcement presence in their neighborhood. This search comes less than week after another large-scale ground search was conducted Saturday in east Eustis, also with multiple agencies, Sommer told Inside Lake last week.

Baldwin, 41, who has been missing for nearly six months, is described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 135 pounds, with brown and dyed blonde hair and hazel eyes. If you have information on Baldwin’s disappearance, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Crimeline callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

Previous story: Multiple law enforcement agencies search for missing Mount Dora mom Saturday – Inside Lake

 

Major law enforcement presence in missing Mount Dora mom’s former neighborhood Friday Read More »

GRAPHIC: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake

Multiple law enforcement agencies search for missing Mount Dora mom Saturday

Eustis, Inside Scoop, Mount Dora, Unincorporated Lake / By

EUSTIS, Fla.—Only Inside Lake was on the scene as a large search was conducted Saturday by multiple law enforcement agencies for Mount Dora missing mom Nicole Baldwin.

Law enforcement officers and volunteers searched areas near the east side of Eustis for Baldwin, who has been missing since early November 2023. Inside Lake witnessed searchers on foot, along with additional searchers on ATVs and horses. The search spanned several hours and ended early in the afternoon Saturday.

PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake

The search was planned for at least several weeks and a search of that magnitude involves a lot of preparation to coordinate with multiple agencies and units, MDPD Spokesperson Misty Sommer told Inside Lake.

“At this point in the investigation, Mount Dora Police Department is looking into all possible scenarios related to the search of Nicole Baldwin. This included a search, with our partner agencies, of nearby vacant lands that are in close proximity to her last known residence,” Sommer said.

Baldwin was last seen Nov. 2, 2023, at her Strathmore Circle home in Mount Dora and reported missing on Nov. 5, 2023. She was originally classified as “missing and endangered,” but a search warrant later stated police were looking for evidence in a second-degree murder investigation.

PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake

This is the latest in a case that has seen many twists and turns; Baldwin’s husband, Brett, was arrested Dec.14, 2023 on federal child pornography charges and has been held on no bond in the Marion County Jail since his arrest. In January, investigators with MDPD and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement executed an electronics search warrant at the home of Terri Rogers, a volunteer and missing persons advocate who led several public searches for Baldwin. Rogers, who spoke exclusively with Inside Lake following the search, said investigators seized her phone, home security cameras, laptops and Amazon Alexa devices, among other electronics. Rogers has never been charged with a crime in this case.

Baldwin, 41, is described as a white female, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 135 pounds with brown and dyed blonde hair, and hazel eyes. If you have information on Baldwin’s disappearance, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Crimeline callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

Previous stories: Missing Person Advocate Says Law Enforcement Turned on Her in Missing Mount Dora Mom Case – Inside Lake

Feds: More than 2 Dozen Child Porn Images and Videos Found on Phone Seized in Missing Mount Dora Mom Case; Husband Planned to Move to North Carolina – Inside Lake

Husband of Missing Mount Dora Mom Being Held on Federal Charges – Inside Lake

Husband of Missing Mount Dora Woman Taken into Custody Thursday Morning – Inside Lake

Reward Offered for Information Leading to the Whereabouts of Missing Mount Dora Mother – Inside Lake

Community Search and Vigil Planned for Mount Dora Mom Missing a Month – Inside Lake

Major Law Enforcement Activity at Mount Dora Home of Missing Mom – Inside Lake

3 Weeks and Still No Sign of Missing Mount Dora Mom – Inside Lake

Mount Dora Woman Missing a Week, Daughter Wants Answers – Inside Lake

Multiple law enforcement agencies search for missing Mount Dora mom Saturday Read More »

Teen arrested for killing family cat in dryer Monday

Inside Scoop, Minneola / By

MINNEOLA, Fla.—A teenager is facing a charge of animal cruelty—excessively cruel, after putting the family cat in the dryer and killing it, according to an arrest affidavit.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Monday, Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a home on Plum Lake Drive in Minneola on a report of a suspicious incident. When they arrived, the mother of Cayden Mikkel Williams told a deputy her son had just killed the family cat, named “Mouse” by putting it in the dryer.

She said when she was coming into the neighborhood with her other children, she saw Williams walking and he motioned for her to stop. She rolled the window down and Williams reportedly said, “So Mouse…” She replied, “what?” and Williams responded, “so he was in the dryer,” the affidavit states.

She returned home and found Mouse the cat lying on top of the dryer wrapped in a piece of fabric, dead. Mouse had blood coming from its nose and its ears were burnt and Williams’ clothes were on the floor in front of the dryer. She told the deputy the dryer has a 70-minute timer and there were approximately 30 minutes left on the timer, indicating Mouse was in the dryer for possibly 40 minutes, according to the affidavit, and after a brief argument Williams left.

The deputy observed dried blood all over the inside of dryer, he noted in the affidavit.

Williams’ mother told the deputy they buried Mouse by his favorite bush in the yard and the deputy called LCSO Animal Control and they exhumed Mouse’s remains for evidence, according to the affidavit. Williams, who will turn 17 on Friday, came back home and told the deputy he knew why deputies were speaking to him and he said he put his clothes in the dryer and did not see Mouse or hear him making any sounds or a banging noise after he started the dryer.

Williams also told the deputy he did not want his mother or siblings to be loud after they found out Mouse was dead because he did not want law enforcement to be notified, the affidavit states.

Williams was arrested, transported to the Lake County Jail and turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

 

 

Teen arrested for killing family cat in dryer Monday Read More »

PHOTO: Astatula Police Department

Astatula Police corporal suspended following domestic battery arrest

Astatula, Inside Scoop, Leesburg, Unincorporated Lake / By

ASTATULA, Fla.—An Astatula Police Department corporal is suspended and under internal investigation following an arrest for domestic battery last week.

Erick Capraun, 50, who has been with APD since 2016, was arrested by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office after his girlfriend said he had been drinking and pushed her Thursday afternoon.

She told deputies when she walked into the house in unincorporated Leesburg, Capraun started yelling at her over financial issues and pushed her in the shoulder. The argument ensued and he reportedly said, “stupid (expletive) I’m going to lose my dog.”

Capraun did serve as a K9 handler for APD, but the dog has been retired since his arrest, APD Chief Wally Hoagland told Inside Lake. “It was time,” he said.

Capraun told LCSO that the victim was intoxicated, and they were arguing about her driving while she was drinking. He said she was on the phone with an unknown male and told him she was going to leave him for the unknown male and then she pushed him, and he pushed her back. She told deputies he pushed her and when asked if she pushed him back, she said, “no, not that I can remember.” Capraun was arrested and changed his story while he was in the back of the patrol vehicle, according to the affidavit.

Deputies have responded to the home multiple times, including just five days before Capraun was arrested, for a similar issue, the arresting deputy noted in the affidavit.

Capraun will remain suspended from APD until the conclusion of the internal investigation, Hoagland said.

Astatula Police corporal suspended following domestic battery arrest Read More »

Man apologizes for having sex with minor in recorded phone call, facing 13 charges

Inside Scoop, Minneola / By

MINNEOLA, Fla.— An elementary school custodian was arrested last week after an underage girl told her guardian she had sex with him a few days before, according to an arrest affidavit.

The girl told Lake County Sheriff’s Office detectives James Pacheco, 19, of Minneola, told her he was 17 years old and a student in Groveland after they began communicating in January after meeting on Snapchat. On March 12, the girl, whose age is redacted from the affidavit, went to Pacheco’s Minneola home where they had consensual sex, she said. She said the encounter was painful, but she did not tell him to stop and after they were finished, she spent the night. The next morning when he attempted to touch her again, she said, no, because she was in pain and Pacheco told her to leave. She left using a rideshare company and Pacheco messaged her, told her he wanted to “breakup” and blocked her on his social media accounts, according to the affidavit.

The girl said Pacheco sent her numerous sexual photos and videos while they were communicating between January and March, and in a recorded phone call Pacheco apologized to girl for having sex with her and lying about his age. Detectives then executed a search warrant at Pacheco’s home at 913 White Oak Way, Minneola and found several pieces of evidence, including bed coverings and his phone.

Detectives interviewed Pacheco and he admitted sending sexually explicit videos and photos to the girl and directed detectives to more evidence. He also said he was sorry and knew what he did was wrong, the affidavit states.

Pacheco was arrested for three counts of lewd or lascivious battery and 10 counts of transmission of harmful material to minors. He was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was released on $35,000 bond.

Pacheco was employed at Minneola Charter School as a custodian, but is no longer employed there, Minneola Charter School Principal Sherry Watts told Inside Lake.

Man apologizes for having sex with minor in recorded phone call, facing 13 charges Read More »

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Clermont woman who was “acting strange and talking about having premonitions” arrested for killing husband

Clermont, Inside Scoop, Unincorporated Lake / By

CLERMONT, Fla.—A woman is facing a first-degree murder charge after shooting and killing her husband late Sunday night, according to an arrest affidavit.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to 10649 Lake Ralph Drive in unincorporated Clermont just before 10:10 p.m. on a report of a homicide and when they arrived, the complainant whose name is redacted from the affidavit, escorted a deputy into the home where Maria Jose Rodriguez, 40, was sitting in the dining room.

She was secured in handcuffs and placed in a patrol vehicle and deputies then found her husband, Andrew Rodriguez, 40, lying on his side in a pool of blood in a bedroom. Lake EMS pronounced him deceased 10 minutes after LCSO arrived on scene.

The complainant told deputies Maria Rodriguez was “acting strange and talking about having premonitions” prior to the shooting. Andrew Rodriguez contacted Maria Rodriguez’ mother and requested family members to come to the home. When the family told Maria Rodriguez they were going to take her to the hospital, she “freaked out,” followed her husband into the bedroom and shot him multiple times.

Maria Rodriguez then exited the bedroom with a notebook in her hand and stated how important the notebook was, according to the affidavit. Evidence found at the scene was consistent with Maria Rodriguez moving closer to her husband as she fired, an LCSO detective noted in the affidavit.

She was arrested for first-degree murder and transported to the Lake County Jail, where she is being held on no bond.

 

Clermont woman who was “acting strange and talking about having premonitions” arrested for killing husband Read More »

Guns and drugs seized in a Leesburg search warrant executed by the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security agents and detectives with Clermont, Eustis, Leesburg and Mount Dora police departments Tuesday. PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff's Office

Leesburg search warrant takes multiple guns and trafficking amounts of drugs of the streets

Inside Scoop, Leesburg / By

LEESBURG, Fla.—A search warrant earlier this week took multiple guns and trafficking amounts of drugs off the street and landed a Leesburg man in jail whose criminal history dates back 26 years, according to an arrest affidavit.

Around 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Lake County Sherriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit (SIU,) LCSO SWAT, Homeland Security agents and detectives with Clermont, Eustis, Leesburg and Mount Dora police departments executed a search warrant at 2519 Myer Ave., Leesburg and found Walter Canady, 43, sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle in the driveway and 12 other people at the home.

Upon searching the home, detectives found a bedroom without a doorknob and locked with a deadbolt. After removing the deadbolt, LCSO found a cache of drugs, including about a pound of cocaine, 6 ounces of methamphetamine, 15 grams of fentanyl, 40 grams of MDMA, a small amount of marijuana, paraphernalia and seven firearms. When Canady was searched, deputies found numerous keys in his pocket, one that opened the deadbolt, the affidavit states.

Canady denied ever being in the home and said he had only been on the front screened patio, but detectives say that was a lie, as he was spotted exiting the home about five minutes before LCSO executed the search warrant.

Canady was arrested for armed trafficking of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA; possession paraphernalia; possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and five counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond.

Two other people were arrested at home in addition to Canady; Gabriella Partridge, 32, was arrested on a warrant for violation of probation, Rosa L. Taylor, 55, was arrested for a Sumter County warrant for grand theft and Taylor G. Estrill, 27, was issued a summons to appear in court for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Leesburg search warrant takes multiple guns and trafficking amounts of drugs of the streets Read More »

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More charges for accused Eustis serial burglar

Eustis, Inside Scoop, Mount Dora / By

EUSTIS, Fla.—The man accused of multiple thefts in Eustis and Mount Dora beginning in October 2023 is now facing more charges, according to Eustis Police Department.

Jordan Makuannen, 19, has been held in the Lake County Jail on no bond since he was arrested earlier this week after Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies worked together and took him into custody after he bailed out of a stolen vehicle near the Lake County/Polk County line.

Makuannen is now facing additional charges related to the stolen Dodge Durango he dumped at Club at Eustis Apartments March 3, including burglary to an occupied dwelling, grand theft from a dwelling, grand theft, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and grand theft auto.

In that case, Makuannen is believed to have climbed through a window of a home on East Atwater Avenue while a resident was asleep; he took electronics, the keys to the Durango and the Durango. This theft was just one day after he was captured on video stealing groceries off the porch of a home on Morin Street and at least the second time he is accused of entering a residence while someone was home.

After EPD officers recovered the stolen Durango, they found groceries that matched items stolen from Morin Street and located items that belong to a Eustis woman and were taken in a separate theft, according to an affidavit.

Makuannen is facing a slew of charges and is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond due to his failure to appear in court for his October 2023 case.

Previous stories: Man arrested last year for multiple thefts in Eustis nabbed by deputies after bailing out of stolen SUV in South Lake early Monday – Inside Lake

Stepdad Turns Stepson in to Police After Finding Evidence of Multiple Burglaries in his Eustis Home Monday – Inside Lake

More charges for accused Eustis serial burglar Read More »

Leesburg woman arrested after boy tells his mom she touched him while he was sleeping

Inside Scoop, Leesburg, Unincorporated Lake / By

LEESBURG, Fla.—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office quickly arrested a Leesburg woman early Saturday morning after a boy told his mother she inappropriately touched him while he was sleeping.

LCSO responded to a home in unincorporated Leesburg after the boy’s mom reported her son had called her “in a complete panic” and said he woke up to Anna Jackson, 38, rubbing his genitals and inner thigh, according to an arrest affidavit.

The boy, whose name is redacted because he is the victim of a sex crime, is between 12 and 15 years old, his exact age is also redacted. He told a deputy he was sleeping when he awoke to Jackson reaching under his clothes and touching his genital area. He said she got up and left the room but came back and began to touch him again. The boy said she only used her hands to touch him, and she touched him underneath his clothes.

He told her to stop, left the room and called his mom.

After speaking with the boy, deputies woke Jackson up and she said she had four to five small alcoholic drinks and did not remember anything except coming home and going to bed. Deputies questioned her about her sleeping habits, and she mentioned she had been single for a year, according to the affidavit. She also changed her story about the incident several times while being questioned.

Jackson was arrested for lewd and lascivious molestation and transported to the Lake County Jail, where she was released Monday on $10,000 bond.

Leesburg woman arrested after boy tells his mom she touched him while he was sleeping Read More »

LCSO investigates after a person was found deceased by EMS in a vehicle at a Leesburg gas station Friday. Courtesy photo

LCSO: No apparent foul play in death of man Friday

Inside Scoop, Leesburg, Unincorporated Lake / By

LEESBURG, Fla.—Authorities have released the name of the man pronounced dead at a Leesburg gas station Friday and they do not believe his death was the result of foul play, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Dispatchers at Leesburg Police Department received a call from a person attempting to drive someone to the hospital Friday afternoon and they were instructed to pull over if they needed medical assistance, LCSO Cpl. Chanel Martin told Inside Lake Friday. Leesburg Police Department Capt. Joe Iozzi said investigators determined the incident began in LCSO’s jurisdiction and LCSO took over the investigation.

The driver pulled over at Wawa, 1400 North Boulevard, Leesburg and when EMS arrived, they pronounced John Michael Smith deceased, Martin said.

“The decedent, John Michael Smith, was turned over to the medical examiner’s office. There were no apparent signs of foul play, trauma, or a drug overdose,” Martin told Inside Lake. “He also had a medical history.”

Previous story: LCSO investigating after EMS pronounces person deceased at Leesburg gas station – Inside Lake

LCSO: No apparent foul play in death of man Friday Read More »

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