LCSO Archives - Page 10 of 13

Suspected Thief Nabbed at Sorrento Home Where Explosives were Found Last Month

Inside Scoop, Unincorporated Lake / By Marilyn M. Aciego

SORRENTO, Fla.—A suspected thief was arrested on Halloween after a victim located his belongings on Craigslist for sale and sent the Lake County Sheriff’s Office photos of his items with the suspected thief in front of a Sorrento home, according to an arrest affidavit.

After receiving the photos, LCSO detectives responded to 31624 Orange Street in Sorrento—the same home where explosives were found last month in the case against David Flores. Flores was arrested near that home after being on the run for several days stemming from an incident that began with an armed sexual battery.

When detectives arrived at the home, they found the stolen items—a carved wooden fish and a cypress table—in plain view in front of the home and interviewed Brian Powell, 33, the same man in the photos sent by the victim, and a resident of the home. Powell told LCSO he purchased the items from his roommate for $150. A detective asked Powell if he knew where his roommate got the items and if he knew how much they were worth. Powell said he did not know where the roommate obtained the items and after researching the items online, he knew they were expensive, the affidavit states. Inside Lake is not naming the roommate because he has not been charged with a crime in this case.

Powell consented to a search of the Orange Street home and detectives found numerous other items belonging to the victim, including four fishing poles, an outboard, tools and decorations. Powell was arrested for dealing in stolen property and dealing in stolen property via the internet.

He was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on $7,000 bond.

Previous story: Bulletproof Vest, Explosive Devices, Guns and Drugs Found During Search Warrant, Suspect Now Facing Federal Charges

Suspected Thief Nabbed at Sorrento Home Where Explosives were Found Last Month Read More »

Tracking App Helps Nab Accused Umatilla Teenaged Armed Robber

Inside Scoop, Lady Lake, Umatilla / By Marilyn M. Aciego

UMATILLA, Fla.—A tracking app helped nab an accused teenaged armed robber earlier this week, according to an arrest affidavit.

Juan “Slugga” Gomez Jr., 16, of Umatilla, is accused of robbing two victims of $500 on Orange Circle in Lady Lake Sunday. The victims told Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies a masked male suspect pointed a gun at them and demanded money, and a second male who was not wearing a mask helped him, the affidavit states.

The victims identified Gomez through social media and LSCO found that he attended Umatilla High School. Gomes was secured and detained at UHS Monday, where he was interviewed by an LCSO detective. He denied being in Lady Lake and taking part in the robbery and refused to give the detective a DNA sample, according to the affidavit.

Gomez’ father responded to the school and told LCSO he has a tracking app and it showed Gomez was in Lady Lake around the time of the robbery. Gomez then confessed to the crime but said he did not get any money; he refused to identify he accomplice. Gomez was arrested for armed robbery and turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Tracking App Helps Nab Accused Umatilla Teenaged Armed Robber Read More »

Eustis Police Department investigates an armed robbery Friday afternoon. PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake

Man Arrested for Armed Robbery in Eustis Friday

Eustis, Inside Scoop / By Marilyn M. Aciego

EUSTIS, Fla.—A man suspected of an armed robbery in Eustis Friday is in the Lake County Jail on $50,500 bond.

According to Eustis Police Department Chief Craig Capri, a man reported he was robbed of his wallet that contained around $400, his identification and a Cash App card Friday afternoon on East Hazzard Avenue. He told police the suspects were in an older blue SUV and a black Volkswagen, and he was walking on the side of a home in the 1200 block of East Hazzard Avenue when he felt two firearms on his back. He said two men, one he identified as Jeremy Stephon Battle, 34, told him to give them everything he had and pulled his pants down.

The two men then walked up to a third man and handed him something the victim was unable to see, and all three men fled the scene. Officers began canvassing the area for the men and the vehicles and spotted a newer model black Volkswagen passing on a double line near Hicks Ditch Road. An EPD corporal soon found a Volkswagen backed into a parking spot at Treasure of Hope Stop and Play internet casino, located at 37847 North State Road 19, Umatilla. The corporal ordered the occupants out of the car at gunpoint and a woman exited the car with a small child, along with a man quickly identified as Cameron Blair, 21.

Blair, who is well-known to law enforcement, had an active warrant for a variety of crimes and was placed under arrest. Officers spotted a Glock 19 9mm tucked between the front passenger seat and the center console in plain view and within reach of Blair. He was transported to the police department and questioned about the robbery, and later transported to the Lake County Jail on the warrant and additional charges of carrying a concealed firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Details on the warrant were not available at press time, but Blair is facing several charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (domestic,) possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, lewd or lascivious molestation and domestic battery. He is being held on no bond. He was not charged in the robbery, but the case is still under investigation, EPD Sgt. Paul Barnett told Inside Lake.

Officers continued searching the area for Battle, the suspect in the robbery, and found him standing in the yard of a home in the 100 block of Bates Avenue. He made eye contact with an officer and took off running. Officers set up a perimeter and with the assistance of a Lake County Sheriff’s Office K9, they found Battle hiding in a tent in the backyard of the home. He was taken into custody and transported to the police department for questioning.

Battle, who was captured on video speaking with the victim, was still wearing the same clothes when he was taken into custody. He denied being a part of the robbery and said “I” did not rob anyone with an emphasis on “I,” and “making it sound as if he were present, however did not commit the actual crime,” the arresting detective noted in the affidavit.

Battle, 34, was arrested for armed robbery and resisting arrest without violence and transported to LCJ, where he is being held on $50,500 bond.

Man Arrested for Armed Robbery in Eustis Friday Read More »

5 Arrested in Lake County Child Sex Sting

Groveland, Inside Scoop, Tavares, Unincorporated Lake / By Marilyn M. Aciego

TAVARES, Fla.—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests of five people Monday who are accused of traveling with the intent to have sex with a juvenile earlier this month.

“After unknowingly talking online with an undercover detective, the subjects traveled to a predetermined location with the intent to have sex with a child. All suspects were taken into custody upon arrival,” LCSO said in a statement.

The suspects are:

Musa Sawaneh, 25, who traveled from Temple Terrace.
Jason Spencer, 40, who traveled from Tavares.
Kahlil Amilivia Rodriguez, 25, who traveled from Groveland.
Bhaveshkuma Vekaria, 45, who traveled from Orlando.
Nahuel Benjamin Hurtado Humeres, 20, who traveled from Dundee. Humeres is a Chilean citizen and is being for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

5 Arrested in Lake County Child Sex Sting Read More »

Fruitland Park Man Admits to Strangling his Dog and Cat

Fruitland Park, Inside Scoop, Unincorporated Lake / By Marilyn M. Aciego

FRUITLAND Park, Fla.—A Fruitland Park man has been released from the Lake County Jail on bond after admitting to deputies he strangled his dog and cat, according to an arrest affidavit.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a home in Fruitland Park Thursday morning on a report of a man, later identified as William Victor Brown, 65, having “homicidal/suicidal tendencies.”

The complainant said Brown told her had strangled his black and white cat and black and brown Chihuahua Wednesday night and he wanted to kill himself with his gun, the affidavit states.

Deputies spoke with Brown, who admitted he strangled both animals and said he did it because he had nowhere to place them, they were both old and he could not find a place to euthanize them. He said he put the dog and cat in a black trash bag after he killed them.

An LCSO sergeant found the dog alive in a nearby dumpster and she was turned over to LCSO’s Animal Enforcement Unit, and according to Lake County Animal Shelter online records, the pup entered foster care Friday. The cat was not found and is presumed deceased.

Brown was arrested for death of an animal and attempted death of an animal. He was transported to LCJ, where he was released on $10,000 bond.

Fruitland Park Man Admits to Strangling his Dog and Cat Read More »

Bulletproof Vest, Explosive Devices, Guns and Drugs Found During Search Warrant, Suspect Now Facing Federal Charges

Eustis, Inside Scoop, Tavares, Unincorporated Lake / By Marilyn M. Aciego

SORRENTO, Fla.—Only Inside Lake reported on a search warrant that was executed on a home connected to David Flores Thursday afternoon and now the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has revealed what was found.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives (ATF,) and LCSO’s SWAT Team, Hazardous Device Team (bomb squad,) detectives and crime scene investigators searched the home located at 31624 Orange Street, Sorrento Thursday afternoon and into the early evening hours.

“During the search, detectives located firearms, a ballistic vest, fentanyl, and other drugs. The vest that was collected matches the description of the one the victim claimed Flores had in his possession on Sunday. Two improvised explosive devices were also located and collected by ATF, who will be adding additional federal charges to Flores. The two devices were very similar to those collected at the Eustis home on Wednesday,” LCSO Lt. John Herrell said in an email.

Flores was arrested early Wednesday morning after fleeing deputies at the home on Orange Street. LCSO K9 Ex apprehended and bit Flores on a nearby property, and he was taken into custody and booked into the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on no bond.

Flores is now facing federal charges, in addition to the litany of state charges he is facing stemming from an incident on Bates Avenue in Eustis Sunday afternoon. One other person was arrested during the search warrant for violation of a domestic no-contact order after he was found at the home with his alleged victim, Herrell told Inside Lake.

Previous stories: Large Law Enforcement Presence at Home Where Wanted Man Found in Sorrento Earlier this Week – Inside Lake

VIDEO: LCSO K9 Takes a Bite Out of Crime and Apprehends Suspect Wanted Since Sunday – Inside Lake

Captured: Man who was Subject of Extensive Search in Eustis Sunday Night Taken into Custody – Inside Lake

After Extensive Search Sunday Night in Eustis, Wanted Suspect Still on the Lam – Inside Lake

LCSO and EPD Search for “Possibly Armed” and “Dangerous” Suspect – Inside Lake

Bulletproof Vest, Explosive Devices, Guns and Drugs Found During Search Warrant, Suspect Now Facing Federal Charges Read More »

Large Law Enforcement Presence at Home Where Wanted Man Found in Sorrento Earlier this Week

Eustis, Inside Scoop, Tavares, Unincorporated Lake / By Marilyn M. Aciego

SORRENTO, Fla.— Numerous law enforcement officers were at the home Thursday night where a wanted man was apprehended earlier this week conducting a “follow-up investigation”, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Herrell told Inside Lake.

Multiple sources reached out to Inside Lake Thursday evening and said law enforcement officers from multiple agencies were at the home at 31624 Orange Street in Sorrento, including LCSO and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office around 6:30 p.m. This is the same home David Flores, 37, fled from early Wednesday morning after being on the run from deputies for more than two days.

Flores was apprehended by K9 Ex on a nearby property, was treated for his injuries and transported to the Lake County Jail. Neighbors told Inside Lake the residence is a “known drug house,” and law enforcement officers could be heard announcing a search warrant. Several people could be seen in front of the home handcuffed. They said, along with LCSO and OCSO, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was on scene. Inside Lake was unable to confirm with LCSO if a search warrant was being served at the Orange Street home, and unable to confirm if ATF was on scene, but LCSO stated in a social media post Wednesday they were investigating an allegation Flores had explosives at the home on Bates Avenue in Eustis where the original crimes Flores was wanted for occurred.

Law enforcement officers can be seen here at a home on Orange Street in Sorrento. COURTESY VIDEO

Flores is now facing additional charges, including armed sexual battery, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, battery by strangulation, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and petit theft. He continues to held in LCJ on no bond.

Previous stories: VIDEO: LCSO K9 Takes a Bite Out of Crime and Apprehends Suspect Wanted Since Sunday – Inside Lake

Captured: Man who was Subject of Extensive Search in Eustis Sunday Night Taken into Custody – Inside Lake

After Extensive Search Sunday Night in Eustis, Wanted Suspect Still on the Lam – Inside Lake

LCSO and EPD Search for “Possibly Armed” and “Dangerous” Suspect – Inside Lake

Large Law Enforcement Presence at Home Where Wanted Man Found in Sorrento Earlier this Week Read More »

Deputies Investigating Several Suspicious Incidents in Mount Plymouth Tuesday Night

Inside Scoop, Unincorporated Lake / By Marilyn M. Aciego

MOUNT PLYMOUTH, Fla.—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is investigating several reports of suspicious incidents in Mount Plymouth Tuesday night, including shots fired near at least two homes; and in one incident, a bullet entered a home through a sliding glass door.

According to a report, deputies responded to an unoccupied home around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday on Troon Avenue after the complainant saw an unknown person, possibly a Hispanic male, walking around the residence on surveillance video. While responding to that call, another call came in reporting a shot had been fired through a sliding glass door at a nearby home.

The victim told deputies he was sitting in the living room with his juvenile daughter when the bullet came through the sliding glass door on the backside of his home. Prior to the deputy’s arrival, the victim collected the bullet and placed into a sandwich bag. He was not wearing gloves.

The address of that home is redacted from the report, but the responding deputy noted it was a redacted number of yards away from the home where LCSO received the original complaint about the suspicious male. About a minute later, another report of shots fired was called in from Seaforth Avenue.

Eagle One, LCSO’s helicopter, and a K9 unit responded and canvassed the area with negative results.

If you have information, call LCSO at 352-343-2101.

Deputies Investigating Several Suspicious Incidents in Mount Plymouth Tuesday Night Read More »

David Flores is seen here being taken into custody in this still shot taken from LCSO body cam.

VIDEO: LCSO K9 Takes a Bite Out of Crime and Apprehends Suspect Wanted Since Sunday

Eustis, Inside Scoop, Tavares, Unincorporated Lake / By Marilyn M. Aciego

SORRENTO, Fla.—A tip to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office resulted in the apprehension of the man who was the subject of an extensive search in Eustis Sunday night.

LCSO responded to a home on Orange Street in Sorrento just after midnight Wednesday and began searching the property for David Flores, 37, and he fled on foot, LCSO Lt. John Herrell said.

“A sheriff’s K-9 located him shortly thereafter hiding in a hole where it appeared trees had been cleared,” Herrell said in an email.

K9 Ex bit Flores and he was treated for minor injuries and later transported to the Lake County Jail. He was served a warrant revoking his bond for prior grand theft and criminal mischief charges and is facing a new charge of resisting arrest for fleeing deputies before he was apprehended early Wednesday. LCSO body cam video shows Flores getting bit and screaming.

LCSO body cam shows the apprehension of wanted suspect David Flores.

Additional charges are likely, Herrell said.

Flores is suspected of committing an aggravated assault that occurred in the county portion of Bates Avenue around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, deputies and Eustis Police Department officers searched for Flores for more than five hours by ground and by air Sunday night, causing concern for residents in the area. The victim of the aggravated assault told LCSO Flores was armed and in possession of a bulletproof vest, Herrell told Inside Lake Monday. Flores fled into a wooded area and slipped the perimeter set up by law enforcement.

K9 Ex PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office

Previous stories: Captured: Man who was Subject of Extensive Search in Eustis Sunday Night Taken into Custody – Inside Lake

After Extensive Search Sunday Night in Eustis, Wanted Suspect Still on the Lam – Inside Lake

LCSO and EPD Search for “Possibly Armed” and “Dangerous” Suspect – Inside Lake

VIDEO: LCSO K9 Takes a Bite Out of Crime and Apprehends Suspect Wanted Since Sunday Read More »

Captured: Man who was Subject of Extensive Search in Eustis Sunday Night Taken into Custody

Eustis, Inside Scoop, Tavares, Unincorporated Lake / By Marilyn M. Aciego

SORRENTO, Fla.—The man the Lake County Sheriff’s Office searched for by ground and air for several hours Sunday night has been taken into custody and Inside Lake is working on getting details on his apprehension.

David Flores, 37, was suspected of an aggravated assault that occurred in the county portion of Bates Avenue around 5:30 p.m. Sunday and according to LCSO online booking records he was taken into custody shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday in Sorrento. He is facing a charge of resisting arrest and two bond revocation orders from previous arrests; he is being held without bond due to the bond revocation orders.

*Law enforcement officers search a residential neighborhood in Eustis for David Flores Sunday night. PHOTO: Jolie Fowler/Inside Lake*

Previous stories: After Extensive Search Sunday Night in Eustis, Wanted Suspect Still on the Lam – Inside Lake

LCSO and EPD Search for “Possibly Armed” and “Dangerous” Suspect – Inside Lake

Captured: Man who was Subject of Extensive Search in Eustis Sunday Night Taken into Custody Read More »