TAVARES, Fla.—Lake County Public Safety Communications (911) is experiencing intermittent outages due to Hurricane Debby. Residents may not be able to reach dispatchers in an emergency. If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, call the non-emergency number at 352-343-2101.
TAVARES, Fla.—The man wanted for a home invasion and zip-tying a victim earlier this month is behind bars.
James Kenneth Rohrer, 28, was taken into custody by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies in the DeLand area of Lake County early Tuesday morning, according to public records.
Rohrer is accused of zip-tying a man and ransacking his home, after his partner in crime, Kayla Louise Berlinski, 31, used a ruse to enter the home of Martin Bottom Jr. on May 12. Bottom Jr. said Berlinski arrived at his home, and he confronted her about a prior theft at his home. Berlinksi, wearing both a jacket and a hat emblazoned with “POLICE” told Bottom Jr. she was a law enforcement officer, and she was going to arrest him for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, a probable affidavit states.
Bottom Jr. reached for his phone, and a man, later identified as Rohrer, then entered the victim’s home, took the phone and bound Bottom Jr.’s hands behind his back with zip ties. Berlinksi is accused of emptying the victim’s pockets as Rohrer went through the home and stole multiple items, including a .40 Glock handgun, cash and multiple electronics. Then they fled, leaving Bottom bound in his home.
Berlinski was taken into custody for the crimes May 14, just two hours after Inside Lake published its story on the incident. The pair is facing several serious charges, including armed home invasion, kidnapping, grand theft and grand theft of a firearm. Berlinski is facing an additional charge of impersonating a law enforcement officer.
Rohrer is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond; Berlinski is being held on $40,000 bond.
Previous stories: Woman wanted for home invasion, impersonating law enforcement in custody – Inside Lake
2nd suspect in Paisley home invasion nabbed Tuesday Read More »
PAISLEY, Fla.—The woman accused of a weekend home invasion near Paisley is in the Lake County Jail on no bond.
Kayla Louise Berlinski, 31, of Paisley, was taken into custody Monday night, two hours after Inside Lake published its story on the incident that occurred around 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a home near Paisley after a friend who checks on Marvin Bottom Jr. regularly, reported finding him bound with zip ties.
Bottom Jr. said Berlinski arrived at his home Sunday, and he confronted her about a prior theft at his home. Berlinksi, wearing both a jacket and a hat emblazoned with “POLICE” told Bottom Jr. she was a law enforcement officer, and she was going to arrest him for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, a probable affidavit states.
Bottom Jr. reached for his phone, and a man, later identified as James Rohrer, then entered the victim’s home, took the phone and bound Bottom Jr.’s hands behind his back with zip ties. Berlinksi is accused of emptying the victim’s pockets as Rohrer went through the home and stole multiple items, including a .40 Glock handgun, cash and multiple electronics. Then they fled, leaving Bottom bound in his home.
Berlinski is facing charges of armed home invasion, kidnapping, grand theft, grand theft of a firearm and impersonating a law enforcement officer. Rohrer had not been apprehended at press time; if you have information on his whereabouts, call LCSO at 352-343-2101.
Previous story: Pair wanted for zip-tying Paisley man and invading his home Sunday, 1 suspect accused of impersonating police officer – Inside Lake
Woman wanted for home invasion, impersonating law enforcement in custody Read More »
PAISLEY, Fla.—A man and a woman are wanted by Lake County Sheriff’s Office detectives after a Paisley man was found bound with zip ties in his home Sunday afternoon.
LCSO responded to the home after someone reported finding the man with his hands bound behind his back, shortly before 12:30 p.m. Sunday, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The victim, Marvin Bottom Jr., said Kayla Berlinski, arrived at his home Sunday and he confronted her about $30 he believed she stole from him on a prior visist to his home. Berlinksi, wearing both a jacket and a hat emblazoned with “POLICE” told Bottom she was a law enforcement officer, and she was going to arrest Bottom for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the affidavit states.
Bottom reached for his phone to call authorities and Berlinksi allegedly pushed his head toward the floor and a man, later identified as James Rohrer, then entered the victim’s home, took the phone and bound Bottom’s hands behind his back with zip ties.
Berlinksi is accused of emptying the victim’s pockets as Rohrer went through the home and stole multiple items, including a .40 Glock handgun, cash and multiple electronics.
The victim allowed detectives to view footage from his camera system and the video shows a man, positively identified by an LCSO detective as Rohrer, and Berlinksi, who was wearing a jacket “clearly marked” with “POLICE” on the left breast area and the back, in addition to a camouflage hat, also marked “POLICE,” the affidavit states.
Another video shows the pair leaving the home with a grey bag and electronics and then entering a black Nissan pickup truck with an identifiable license plate. A man identified as the registered owner of the truck was also captured on video entering the truck, and he was pulled over while travelling in the area and questioned by detectives. He said he picked the pair up at the victim’s address and dropped them off in Volusia County. He told detectives an unidentified person told him about the robbery later, but denied having any knowledge of it while it was occurring. Inside Lake is not naming him because he was not charged with a crime.
The pair is facing several serious charges, including armed home invasion, kidnapping, grand theft and grand theft of a firearm. Berlinski is facing an additional charge of impersonating a law enforcement officer. Recent photos of the suspects were unavailable at press time; if you have information on their whereabouts, call LCSO at 352-343-2101.
EUSTIS, Fla.—An event to benefit a Lake County Sheriff’s Office school resource deputy who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year is scheduled for Saturday.
What started as chest pain in 2022 turned into a terrifying diagnosis last summer for LCSO Cpl. Adam Tytler. In November 2022, Tytler went to a cardiologist for ongoing chest pain, and after a EKG showed his heart was in good shape, the cardiologist told him the pain was likely gastrointestinal. The next month, on Christmas Eve, Tytler discovered a swollen lymph node on his neck and by February the lymph node had not gotten any better. He was also suffering from a sinus infection at the time and went to his primary care doctor for treatment and mentioned the lymph node. The doctor chalked it up to the infection, but during the spring Tytler’s chest pain continued and had also moved to his back, and then he began to find swollen lymph nodes on his chest.
Tytler went through a battery of tests and upon reviewing the results, his doctor said it was likely cancer. Tytler sought a second opinion from the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and his fears were confirmed when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma in June 2023.
Tytler, his wife Tiffany, and two daughters, Shay 17, Lily, 14, are currently splitting their time between Mount Dora and Tampa for treatment and it is taking a financial toll on the family while already dealing with an emotional roller coaster. Tytler said he came forward with his struggle because cancer affects millions of people and often they go through it alone.
“I would have given up if it weren’t for my faith, my family and the support from the school resource deputy unit,” Tytler said. “I only wanted for those who are struggling to know they are not alone. Not now. Not ever and to never give up.”
Tytler’s struggle inspired Shannon Cook, organizer of Lake County’s annual Back the Blue Walk, and LCSO Lt. Kristin Thompson to create the benefit scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at That Place, 925 North Bay Street, Eustis.
Dinners will be available for purchase, along with an auction of numerous items, including a Back the Blue basket with items from multiple Lake County law enforcement agencies, tickets to various events, like New Kids on the Block concert tickets and Richard Petty Driving Experience, along with a Yeti cooler packed with alcohol, various craft items made by local residents, a high-end fishing pole and numerous other items. A poker scramble is also scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at Gator Harley-Davidson, 1745 U.S. Highway 441, Leesburg, and will include five stops, ending at That Place, Cook told Inside Lake.
Tytler has spent nearly his entire adult life at LCSO, and most recently worked as a corporal in the school resource deputy unit. He prevented a shooting on the Eustis High School campus during the 2018-2019 school year and was awarded the Lake County Officer of the Year in 2019 for his efforts.
He said he is excited he has only one treatment left, and it has been a difficult journey. “Truthfully, it’s been challenging and difficult treatment-wise, not just for me but my family also,” Tytler said.
He will have to wait until after the new year to find out if he is cancer-free, he said.
Tytler told Inside Lake saying thank you to all those who have helped him, and contributed to the benefit will never be enough.
“My family and I are so appreciative and overwhelmed of the outpouring of love and support from everyone. Especially from people I’ve never met,” he said.
For more information on the benefit, visit Corporal Adam Tytler Benefit.
Benefit for LCSO Deputy Diagnosed with Cancer Scheduled for Saturday Read More »
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla.—A pedestrian from Paisley was killed Saturday night when he was struck by minivan on Interstate 4, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A Toyota Sienna, being driven by a 59-year-old Sarasota man, was traveling westbound on I4 near McIntosh Road, just after 8:15 p.m. when the Paisley man, 24, walked across the highway and into the path of the minivan for an unknown reason, FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said. “As a result, the vehicle struck the pedestrian, who suffered fatal injuries at the scene of the crash,” Gaskins said in an email.
Paisley Man Killed on I4 in Hillsborough County Saturday Night Read More »
TAVARES, Florida—A jury has found a former Lake County firefighter guilty of sexually battering and molesting a young boy 15 years ago.
Steven Trent Ellis, 52, of Umatilla was arrested in July 2019 by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement after a tip and subsequent search warrant revealed multiple images of child pornography on his computer. Following his arrest, “several” individuals came forward and reported he had sexually abused them, according to a probable cause affidavit.
FDLE met with a victim in 2019 who said he had been abused by Ellis four to five times in 2008 when he was under 12 years old; his exact age is redacted from the affidavit. The boy and his family reported the abuse to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in 2008 and the case remained open for more than 10 years pending further corroborating evidence.
The statements the victim made in his original complaint in 2008 were consistent with statements he made in 2019; he told agents what Ellis did to him in great detail and said it happened at the home Ellis lived in on Fishermans Road in Paisley at the time.
In October 2019, Ellis was charged with sexual battery on a child under 12 and lewd or lascivious molestation, in addition to the child pornography charges. In 2020, he pleaded no contest to the child pornography charges and was sentenced to 15 years in prison in April 2021, and on Monday, Ellis stood trial for two counts of sexual battery on a child under 12 and one count of lewd or lascivious molestation. He was found guilty by a jury on all three counts and sentenced to life in prison.
Former Lake County Firefighter Found Guilty of Sexually Abusing Young Boy Read More »
DeLAND, Florida—A failure to use a turning signal and following too closely led to the arrest of a Paisley man after he was found with a brick of fentanyl under the hood of the truck he was driving in the DeLand area of Lake County Tuesday night, according to an arrest affidavit.
A deputy with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office spotted a white Ford pickup truck tailgating a car near the River Forest Campground around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday shortly after another deputy saw the truck turn on County Road 42 from State Road 44 without using a turning signal. Deputies pulled the truck over on Third Street and the driver, Drew Thomas Daly, 29, of Paisley immediately exited the vehicle, according to the affidavit.
Although Daly consented to a search of the truck, deputies utilized LCSO K9 Onyx and his handler to conduct a free air sniff of the truck and the pup alerted to the odor of narcotics, the affidavit states. A search of the truck revealed black shopping bag under the hood between the fender and the blower motor. In the bag, deputies found a zip top plastic bag that contained a “brown brick” substance that field-tested positive for fentanyl and Daly was taken into custody. He was searched and found with a smaller bag fentanyl in his left, front pocket.
The total weight of the deadly drug was 144 grams, according to the affidavit. Trafficking in more than 28 grams of fentanyl carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Daly was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on $100,000 bond.
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.
Motorcyclist Killed in Head-On Crash, Paisley Woman Airlifted Thursday Read More »
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.
