LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department has released enhanced photos of the suspect who killed a store owner during a robbery Thursday night.
Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, the male suspect entered Fast Stop Superette, 3702 Picciola Road, and shot Raied Shihadeh, 51. He was airlifted to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, where he died from his injuries, LPD Sgt. Shannon Walsh said.
The suspect fled the scene and despite an extensive search by K9 units and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office aviation unit, they were unable to apprehend him, Walsh said.
LPD quickly released a still photo and video following the senseless crime Thursday night and released more photos late Saturday morning in hopes of identifying him.
Police are asking anyone with information or video of the suspect to call them at 352-787-2121.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story described the possible race of the suspect, Leesburg Police Department has since stated the suspect’s race is unconfirmed.
LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department has released store surveillance video of an armed robbery and shooting Thursday night.
Police have not identified the man who entered the Fast Stop Superette, 3702 Picciola Road, Leesburg and shot an employee shortly before 9:30 pm. LPD is looking for a male wearing an orange shirt and had his face covered with a pink shirt. The victim was airlifted to a local hospital and the victim’s condition was unknown late Thursday night.
If you have information on the suspect’s identity, call LPD at 352-787-2121.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story described the possible race of the suspect, Leesburg Police Department has since stated the suspect’s race is unconfirmed.
LEESBURG, Fla.—Leesburg Police Department is searching for a suspect who robbed and shot a store employee Thursday night.
Details were limited at press time, “It’s a very active scene,” LPD Sgt. Shannon Walsh told Inside Lake.
Shortly before 9:30 p.m., Fast Stop Superette, 3702 Picciola Road, Leesburg was robbed, and one person was shot. The victim was airlifted to an area hospital for treatment, Walsh said.
LPD is looking for a male wearing an orange shirt and he also had a pink shirt covering his face.
If you have information, call LPD at 352-787-2121.
Editor’s note: The following story contains crime scene photos some may consider graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.—A Eustis man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted earlier this month in the brutal cold case murder of a gas station manager in 1996.
Terence “Terry” Paquette was 31 years old when he was stabbed 73 times and found dead in the bathroom of Lil’ Champ, 4510 Clarcona Ocoee Road, Orlando in northwest Orange County on Feb. 3, 1996. The store is now a Kwik Stop.
“It was a horrific crime scene with blood everywhere,” according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Terence “Terry” Paquette was brutally murdered in 1996. PHOTO: Orange County Sheriff’s Office
Paquette was found by OCSO deputies after receiving a call that the store was dark, and the doors were locked. Another employee stopped by the store when he saw deputies and let them inside with his key. Upon searching the store, Paquette was found dead, and his autopsy revealed he died from multiple penetrating wounds to his heart, lungs, head, chest and abdomen. He suffered a total of 73 stab wounds, an arrest affidavit states.
Crime scene photo from the 1996 murder of Terence Paquette. PHOTO: Orange County Sheriff’s Office
In November 2021, a quarter century after the murder, Eustis resident Kenneth Stough, now 56, was linked to the crime through genetic genealogy.
“This is the first time a homicide case has been solved using genetic genealogy at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office,” OCSO said.
Crime scene investigators located blood in several parts of the store other than the bathroom, and the pattern indicated the suspect injured himself during the attack and walked around the store. Paquette’s keys were not located in the store and still have never been found; money was also missing from the safe. Several blood samples were sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for analysis, and it was determined that blood from a beverage freezer handle, a freezer flap, lottery machine, the key cylinder from the exterior door and a push bar from a door all came from the same individual and it was not Paquette.
Crime scene photo from the 1996 murder of Terence Paquette. PHOTO: Orange County Sheriff’s Office
On Sept. 29. 1997, the case was closed “pending further investigative leads.” In 2003, the case was reopened, and no suspects were identified. In 2019, OCSO Detective Brian Savelli began reviewing the case. In March 2021, FDLE contracted with an outside lab to obtain a sample for forensic genetic genealogy and the data was uploaded to genealogy databases. It was determined the sample belonged to one of three brothers.
Savelli determined Stough had previously worked at the store, lived just two blocks from Paquette at the time of the murder and they were only three years apart in age. Stough was 28 at the time of the murder.
Crime scene photo from the 1996 murder of Terence Paquette. PHOTO: Orange County Sheriff’s Office
On Aug. 25, 2021, Lake County Circuit Judge Heidi Davis signed a GPS order for Stough’s 2007 black Chevrolet Equinox. On Sept. 14, 2021, OCSO began following Stough and followed him to a convenience store in Eustis. After making two trips into the store, Stough backed the Equinox next to a public dumpster and placed a grey plastic bag in the dumpster that appeared to be filled with beer cans.
The detective secured the dumpster and removed the grey plastic bag that had seven 16-ounce Budweiser beer cans. The cans were submitted to FDLE, and a sample was obtained from one of the cans. The sample matched the DNA from the beverage freezer handle from the 1996 murder.
“The DNA on the item that he had matched the DNA to the crime scene,” Savelli said.
Stough was arrested Nov. 1, 2021, for first-degree murder and armed robbery and held in the Orange Jail on bond. He stood trial earlier this month and was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
EUSTIS, Florida—Eustis Police Department is hunting for an armed robber after the manager of a busy gas station was held at gunpoint late Wednesday night as he closed the store.
The manager of Bay Street Food Mart, formerly known as Kars Mart, 1212 South Bay Street, was outside closing up at around 11 p.m. when the robber ran up from the north side of the building, pulled a gun from his jacket pocket and demanded money, EPD said in a press release.
The victim and the suspect went back into the business and the victim opened the cash register. The suspect took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register and left the scene on foot. Video surveillance captured the incident, and the suspect is described as a black male, medium build, approximately 6 feet tall; he was wearing a gray hoodie, black pants, white shoes, a black hat with a bird on it, along with a black mask and sunglasses. He appeared to have several tattoos. Including one on his left hand and possibly a tattoo above his left eye.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, Eagle One and an LCSO K9 assisted with trying to find and apprehend the suspect but were unsuccessful. The K9 tracked to the northwest side of the store and evidence was located west of the business. Police believe the suspect dropped the undisclosed evidence while making his getaway.
If you have information on the robbery, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
LEESBURG, Florida—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has released more details about an incident that occurred at a 24-hour gas station early Monday.
Three male suspects entered Circle K, 10030 County Road 44, Leesburg and stole multiple items around 4:15 a.m. Monday, according to LCSO Cpl. Chanel Martin.
“The employee did not observe a weapon, but it appeared that one of the suspects acted as if they were armed under their clothing,” Martin said in an email. The suspects fled the scene in a white car, and it was found after they abandoned it, Martin said. No one was injured. Two of the suspects were located and the investigation is still active. Their names have not been released.
EUSTIS, Florida—The man Eustis Police say robbed a downtown business Friday has a lengthy prison history and served his first prison sentence nearly 20 years ago, according to court records.
Jacob Thomas Parrish, 36, of Umatilla, was arrested shortly after 3 p.m. Friday after employees of Wells Fargo Advisors, 127 North Bay Street, in the heart of downtown Eustis, called 9-1-1 and reported Parrish entered the business armed with a knife. EPD Capt. Jon Fahning told Inside Lake Friday. Police believe Parrish thought the location was a bank; the building, at the corner of Bay Street and McDonald Avenue houses financial advisors.
Jacob Parrish PHOTO: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Three employees were in the building and barricaded themselves in an office and Parrish refused to let them out and they called police, Fahning told Inside Lake on the scene. Parrish locked himself in the building and a manager of the business quickly brought law enforcement officers a key.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office assisted EPD and Parrish surrendered when a K9 arrived on the scene, Fahning said. None of the employees were injured. Parrish was taken into custody and arrested for armed robbery, and three counts of false imprisonment. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on $35,000 bond.
PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake
According to Lake County Clerk of Court online records, Parrish was first sentenced to prison in June 2005 when he was just 19 years old. Parrish pleaded no contest to armed burglary, grand theft and carrying a concealed weapon. He was given a 40-month suspended prison sentence; he later violated community control and was sent to prison to serve his time. Documents containing the details of all his cases were not available Saturday.
In 2013, Parrish pleaded no contest to manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of a listed chemical and possession of paraphernalia. He was sentenced to two years in prison in that case. He was given credit for time served in LCJ and released March 17, 2014.
Just under six months later, Parrish was arrested again, this time for burglary, grand theft, resisting arrest and trespassing. He pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced to five years in prison. He was released Feb. 18, 2020.
