PAISLEY, Florida—A Daytona Beach man was killed Thursday afternoon when the motorcycle he was riding drifted into oncoming traffic and struck a car head-on, seriously injuring a Paisley woman, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The 72-year-old man was riding a 2007 Harley-Davidson eastbound on County Road 42 west of 4th Street when he entered the westbound lane and struck a 2017 Hyundai Veloster being driven by a 23-year-old woman shortly before 2 p.m. The impact caused the Hyundai to run off the road and strike several trees, FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi said in a press release.
The motorcycle rider was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver of the Hyundai was airlifted to HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford in serious but stable condition, Crescenzi said. County Road 42 was still blocked at press time and the crash remains under investigation.
UMATILLA, Florida—A married couple was found deceased Saturday morning after crashing their car and being found by the owner of the property where they crashed, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Marquis Timmerman, 24, of Paisley, was driving a blue Chevy Malibu north on County Road 439 near Live Oak Ranch Road in unincorporated Umatilla, when she lost control and traveled onto the east shoulder, FHP Lt. Channing Taylor said in a press release.
The Malibu collided with a drainage ditch and several trees before becoming airborne, overturning coming to a final rest in the wooded area on the east shoulder of the roadway. Marquis Timmerman was ejected, and her husband, Randy Timmerman, 45, also of Paisley, was entrapped in the car, Taylor said. The couple suffered fatal injuries on the scene. Numerous social media posts identified the couple as Marquis and Randy Timmerman and Taylor confirmed their identities to Inside Lake.
FHP believes the crash occurred overnight and was discovered by the property owner around 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
PAISLEY, Florida—A Paisley woman was killed after she stepped into the path of a car on County Road 42 in Paisley Friday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The 42-year-old woman was crossing County Road 42 at the intersection of Crooked Mile Road, near Dollar General, when she was struck by 2001 beige Toyota Camry being driven by a 38-year-old Paisley man around 6:45 a.m. She was not in a crosswalk. She was flown to HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford where she succumbed to her injuries, FHP Lt. Channing Taylor said in a press release.
The Toyota driver and his passenger, a 39-year-old Paisley woman, were not injured. The crash closed County Road 42 for several hours and remains under investigation, Taylor said.
PAISLEY, Florida—A man just released from jail Wednesday after a domestic battery charge was dropped, went straight back to jail Friday after being accused of domestic battery again, and possession of methamphetamine.
James Cecil Smith, 37, of Paisley, was arrested Nov. 7 after he was accused of battering a woman during an argument about infidelity on Nov. 6, according to that arrest affidavit. The woman told Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies Smith, also known as “Nasty Cracker,” put his right forearm across her neck and attempted to cover her mouth when she yelled, the affidavit states.
James “Nasty Cracker” Smith’s forearm tattoos. PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
The victim was able to grab her phone and hit the emergency call button and summon help. Smith was located the following day at the home on Hibiscus Avenue in Paisley and arrest for domestic battery. Smith was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he remained until Wednesday when the charge was dropped, according to Lake County Clerk of Court online records.
On Friday, LCSO responded to the same home on Hibiscus Avenue if reference to an open 9-1-1 line, and a female heard saying someone was trying to attack her and steal her curling iron, according to a second arrest affidavit. Due to redaction, it is unclear if the same female was the victim in both cases.
The victim told deputies Smith tried to take her phone from her hand while she was sleeping and squeezed her hand very hard. Smith was spotted on a bicycle near the home as deputies were leaving and he was taken into custody for domestic battery. Upon searching Smith, he was found with a bag of methamphetamine, the affidavit states.
Smith was transported to LCJ, where he is being held on $4,000 bond.
EUSTIS, Florida—A rumor that an employee was carrying a weapon at work turned out to be true after Eustis Police found a gun in his right pocket Saturday afternoon, according to an arrest affidavit.
A manager at Sonny’s 15800 U.S. Highway 441, Eustis told EPD he heard rumors Zachary Steven Rose, 21, of Paisley, was carrying weapon after drug deal went bad, according to the arrest affidavit. The manager said Rose was going to be written up for a prior incident but felt unsafe and wanted officers to check him for a weapon.
EPD went to the kitchen at the restaurant and asked Rose if he had a weapon and he confirmed he did and officers located the loaded .380 Ruger in his right pocket, and he was secured in handcuffs. Rose does not have a concealed weapons permit. Officers also found a THC vape pen. Rose told officers he had the gun for protection, and he has never sold drugs at work, the affidavit states. Rose said he bought the gun from “someone” and it was not reported stolen.
Rose was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm and possession of THC oil. He was transported to the Lake County Jail where he is being held on no bond due to a recommit from a previous charge.
In March, Rose was arrested by EPD for possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia after the vehicle he was riding in was stopped for not having a license plate. K9 Mya found 13.1 grams of meth and Rose admitted it was his, according to that arrest affidavit. That case is still pending.
MOUNT DORA, Florida—A man captured on video stealing nearing $500 worth of items from a home improvement store couldn’t escape being identified by a social media sleuth on a Mount Dora Police Department Facebook post earlier this month.
On July 21, MDPD posted an “attempt to identify” on its Facebook page of two men accused of stealing tools from Lowe’s, 18795 U.S. Highway 441, Mount Dora on June 3. According to the post, a man with a long red beard was captured on video selecting a drill valued at $219 and tool set valued at $239, placing it into his cart and exiting the store without paying on June 3. He was accompanied by another man, but it is unclear if that man has been identified.
PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
According to a probable cause affidavit, the man was identified as Terry Wayne Cowart, 44, of Paisley, by a person who commented on the department’s Facebook post. MDPD officers provided a photo lineup to the store’s manager, and she identified Cowart as the culprit.
A warrant for retail theft was issued for Cowart’s arrest Monday and he was picked up in Paisley early Friday morning. Cowart was transported to the Lake County Jail, where his is being held on $2,000 bond.
PAISLEY, Florida—A Lake County Fire Rescue firefighter is fighting for his life after two masses were found on his brain after being rushed to the hospital earlier this month.
Blake Kocielko, 28, of Deltona, was rushed to Central Florida Regional Medical Center in Sanford after experiencing blurred vision and sudden dizziness while at home on June 19, according to a GoFundMe started by his brother Colton. Colton also works for Lake County Fire Rescue and is currently working on his firefighter certification, he told Inside Lake.
Blake went through testing and two masses were found and one was determined to be a tumor, Colton said. Medical personnel were unable to reach the other mass.
“The tumors were not excised completely because more testing needs to be done first – but the neurosurgeon feels confident that they are cancerous. This is undoubtedly a devastating blow for Blake, his friends and family, and all of us here at Lake County Fire Rescue,” Lake County Firefighters stated in a Facebook post.
Blake was released from Central Florida Regional Medical Center in Sanford Thursday and is awaiting a second craniotomy at Shands Hospital in Gainesville to remove as much of one of the tumors as possible, Blake wrote in a GoFundMe update Monday.
“I am currently awaiting my second craniotomy procedure at Shands to attempt to remove as much of the tumor attached to my left lobe that they can and from there I will begin a treatment plan and begin the long road to recovery and hopefully return to healthy. I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you, no words of encouragement or support has gone unnoticed, and I truly couldn’t thank everyone enough,” Blake stated in the update.
Blake is expected to undergo the surgery in the next two weeks, Colton said. “Hopefully, that will relieve some of the symptoms.”
Blake worked for a private ambulance company before joining Lake EMS in 2018, “to work alongside me,” Colton, 30, said of his little brother. He joined Lake County Fire Rescue in 2021 and is currently stationed in Paisley.
Blake and his longtime girlfriend, Jordan, have a rescued Yorkie named Survivor and their pug, Milo, passed away unexpectedly while Blake was in the hospital.
If you would like to donate to Blake to aid in his expenses and recovery, please visit GoFundMe-Blake’s Fight
DeLAND, Florida—A Paisley man was killed in a single-vehicle crash Friday afternoon, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The 52-year-old man was westbound shortly after noon Friday on County Road 42, near State Road 44 in the DeLand area of unincorporated Lake County, in a 2007 Mazda CX-7 when he left the roadway for an unknown reason a struck a tree, FHP Lt. Kim Montes said in a press release.
The man was pronounced dead on the scene, and he was wearing his seatbelt, Montes said; the crash remains under investigation.
PAISLEY, Florida—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an apparent murder-suicide involving neighbors that occurred on Fisherman’s Road in Paisley Monday afternoon.
LCSO responded to a home on Fisherman’s Road at 12:50 p.m. and found Timothy Patch, 59, “We discovered him dead from an apparent gunshot wound, LCSO Lt. Fred Jones told Inside Lake.
Courtesy photos
LCSO then discovered Eric Hilderbrand, 61, dead behind a home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Jones said. The pair were neighbors and had an ongoing feud about a security light that had started in October; Hilderbrand was apparently upset that the light was shining in a bedroom in the home he shared with his sister. There was a confrontation between Patch and Hilderbrand Monday afternoon and Patch’s murder was captured on video, Jones said.
LCSO did not respond to any prior calls about the feud, but code enforcement had received at least one call, Jones said. The outcome of that call was unclear at press time.
PAISLEY, Florida—A single dad and his four boys are trying to find a new place to live after the home they lived in burned to the ground just eight days before Thanksgiving.
Jon Wilson, 36, and three of his sons were sleeping around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday when the mobile home they have lived in for nine years caught fire, he told Inside Lake. The electrical fire is believed to have started from a faulty outlet in Wilson’s room.
Wilson and his twin 14-year-old boys and 15-year-old-son escaped the blaze on Palm Street, along with their dog and two cats, but the home and everything in it was a total loss. Wilson’s 6-year-old son was with his mom at the time of the fire. It only took about 15 minutes for the home to burn down, Wilson said.
“The whole house was up in flames. Not even anything we found in the rubble was salvageable,” Wilson said Friday.
Wilson was renting the home and does not have renter’s insurance, he said. The Red Cross offered immediate assistance and Wilson is staying with his girlfriend for the time being. The boys are staying with family members and having a little bit of fun while Wilson deals with the aftermath of the fire.
“It’s just a big stressful situation for everybody,” Wilson said.
Many people have donated clothes and furniture to Wilson and his boys, so much in fact he has rented a storage unit, and he has started a GoFundMe to help replace necessities and to raise money for a new place to live. He is looking for a home with at least three bedrooms and said right now that is the most important thing. An account for donations has also been set up at United Southern Bank; if you’d like to donate you may stop by any branch or send your donation by mail to PO Drawer 29, Umatilla, FL 32784.
