TAVARES, Fla.—The man police believe is responsible for the murder of a Leesburg store owner was booked into the Lake County Jail Friday morning.
Alex Lopez, 25, is facing charges of premeditated murder, armed robbery and two other weapons offenses, and is being held on no bond.
Lopez was on the run for nearly a month, while Leesburg Police Department worked with state, federal and local agencies to track him down and finally located him at a motel in Kissimmee around 7 p.m. Wednesday, Leesburg Police Department Sgt. Shannon Walsh said. He was taken into custody by the FDLE/Orlando – Violent Crime Task Force.
“We located him using collaborative investigative measures,” Walsh told Inside Lake.
Lopez is accused of gunning down father of five, Raied “Ray” Shihadeh, 51, at Fast Stop Superette, 3702 Picciola Road, on May 30 during an armed robbery of the store. LPD will not confirm how much money was taken in the robbery, but a post created by Shihadeh’s wife, Monique, on a fundraising platform states it was less than $100. In the same post, Monique also stated her husband was killed on their daughter’s 16th birthday, making an already tragic situation much more heartbreaking.
Raied “Ray” Shihadeh. Photo courtesy of Monique Shihadeh
Inside Lake spoke with Monique by text Thursday and she said, “Our family is happy about his capture. We are preparing for this continuous and long journey that we will be on but praying for strength.”
Monique posted about her husband in numerous Facebook groups throughout the last few weeks asking for help locating Lopez and informing the public of a reward offered by Crimeline, in addition to money raised and added to the reward by her family.
Lopez grew up in Eustis and Sorrento, several sources have told Inside Lake. His next court date is scheduled for July 22.
TAVARES, Fla.—A man accused of operating his motorcycle drunk and killing a woman riding on the back in April 2022 has pleaded no contest to DUI manslaughter and was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.
Edgar Wesley Tello, 66, of Umatilla, has been in the Lake County Jail since his arrest in February 2023, nearly a year after the crash that killed Rebekah Jo Towner less than two weeks after her 28th birthday.
On April 24, 2022, Towner, of Sorrento, was a passenger on 2006 Harley Davidson being controlled by Tello, northbound on Grove Street in Eustis, when he struck a curb, rode on the grass and then struck a construction sign near Pendleton Avenue, causing the motorcycle to slide on its left side. The motorcycle tires then struck the curb again and it flipped to its right side.
Rebekah Jo Towner was killed in a motorcycle crash in April 2022. Edgar Tello pleaded no contest to DUI manslaughter and was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison earlier this month. PHOTO: Towner Family
Police believe Towner’s head struck the sign, and the impact ejected her and Tello off the bike. The motorcycle slid nearly 200 feet before coming to its final resting place with Tello next to it, suffering head and neck injuries. Towner struck a guardrail in front of a home on Grove Street, causing blunt force trauma to her head, which resulted in her death. Medical records showed Towner was also drunk and had several controlled substances in her system.
Tello, was airlifted to an area hospital due to injuries, but was well enough to be interviewed the next day. He told a Eustis Police Department traffic homicide investigator he was in a motorcycle show during Leesburg’s Bikefest, the day of the crash, where he had one beer. After the show he went to a Tavares restaurant where he met Towner, and they had drinks together. They left Tavares and traveled to a downtown Eustis restaurant just a half of a mile from the crash scene and had more beer. Tello could not remember how much beer they had at either restaurant, according to the affidavit.
A manager at the Tavares restaurant later told police Tello and Towner met at her restaurant and, “it was obvious they did not know each other,” the affidavit states. The manager said the pair had two drinks and then they were asked to leave.
At the Eustis restaurant, a manager told police Tello and Towner were at the establishment about an hour and shared a pitcher of beer. Tello started getting aggressive with staff, paid the bill and surveillance video showed Tello left on his bike with Towner on the back.
Less than half a mile later, Tello would crash the motorcycle, leaving Towner dead. A witness told Inside Lake the day of the crash, “I heard a squeal, like it hit the curb and then there were two booms,” he said. “He (Tello) was going faster than 30 (miles per hour.)” The posted speed limit in that area is 30 miles per hour and there is an electronic speed monitor reminding motorists of their speed and to slow down.
A Eustis Police Department traffic homicide investigator is seen here collecting evidence near a mangled sign following a fatal motorcycle crash April 24, 2022. Rebekah Jo Towner was killed in the crash. PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake
Tello originally pleaded not guilty to DUI manslaughter but changed his plea to “no contest” earlier this month. In addition to 135 months in prison, Tello will lose his driver license for life and will serve one year of probation following his release from state prison.
EUSTIS, Fla.—A man was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center last week after his friend ran him over—and Eustis Police say it was intentional.
Around 6:30 p.m. May 19, EPD responded to the intersection of Clay Boulevard and Pine Grove Road on a report of someone being hit by a vehicle and when they arrived, they found Frederick Correll lying on the ground, bleeding, with road rash all over his body. His injuries were so severe he was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center, according to an arrest affidavit. His condition at press time was unknown.
Correll’s friend was on the scene and told police he knew what happened but did not want anyone to get in trouble. He explained to police he, Correll and Derek Lamas, 35, of Sorrento, were having a boat day and when Lamas and Correll were putting the boat back onto the trailer, Correll accidently hurt Lamas’ hand. The pair argued as they traveled down the road and Lamas stopped at the intersection of Clay Boulevard and Pine Grove Road, prompting Correll to exit the truck.
Correll began walking down Clay Boulevard and as Lamas turned onto Pine Grove Road, he struck Correll, knocking him to the ground, the friend told EPD. The friend asked Lamas if he hit Correll, and Lamas reportedly said, “Yes, I ran him over!”
Lamas stopped the truck and they both ran over to Correll and Lamas began taunting him while he was lying on the ground, the friend told police. The friend yelled for Lamas to call law enforcement and Lamas allegedly said, “(Expletive) no,” and the friend struck Lamas, which resulted in a physical altercation, the affidavit states.
The friend “stressed” he did not have his phone because he dropped it in the lake and Correll’s phone was in the truck, and Lamas said he would call the police and he left the scene, according to the affidavit.
It is unclear from the information included in the affidavit, who called the police to that location, because while at the scene, EPD received a call regarding a battery from Lamas, who was several miles away at a restaurant on Orange Avenue. Additional officers responded to the restaurant and Lamas told police Correll hurt his hand while loading the boat onto the trailer and it caused a heated argument. He said Correll then jumped out of the truck at the intersection of Clay Boulevard and Pine Grove Road and was run over by the boat trailer. Lamas said their friend then began hitting him and he left the area for safety and went to the restaurant on Orange Avenue, more than 3 miles away. Eustis Police Department is located between the incident location and the restaurant.
Lamas was arrested for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and leaving the scene of a crash with injuries; he was released from the Lake County Jail on $15,000 bond.
TAVARES, Fla.—A father is in the Lake County Jail on no bond after being arrested for DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and operating a vehicle without a driver license causing death, stemming from a crash that killed his two young sons on Easter Eve in 2022.
David Shawn Pelfrey, 22, was picked up at his home in Fruitland Park on a warrant Thursday, nearly two years after the crash that killed his young sons, Damian and Dominic and seriously injured their younger brother Daylen.
Inside Lake spoke with the boys’ mom, Miranda Martin, by text Monday and she said Daylen is 3 years old now and doing well.
“Daylen is extremely smart, and the only visible scar left was the one on his head from the surgery he had to have but he’s been through a lot, he actually remembers his brothers and he talks about them often. If he’s asked where Damian and Dominic are he will say “they’re my angels in the sky” and that warms my heart,” she said,
Martin said the arrest has been a long time coming.
“I just want my boys to be remembered, I had to patiently wait for this day to come and for an arrest to be made. Throughout all the time that’s gone by I have had to overcome a lot mentally while (Pelfrey) lived his life like he wasn’t bothered, he’s never apologized and showed no remorse. My life was destroyed, and finally my children will get the justice they deserve and the attention they deserved since this happened. There will never be enough justice no matter what his sentence is because their lives are over. They’re not going to come back but now he has no choice but to sit in isolation and remember them and process that he was at fault for this and now I don’t feel like I carry the weight of the pain from their loss alone anymore,” Martin told Inside Lake.
“Damian was a very intelligent child and extremely mischievous and mature for his age, he loved (play) guns, and I would go as far as saying he was obsessed with them and had a collection of nerf guns, he was as much of a daddy’s boy as he was a mama’s boy. Dominic, he was my mini and a wholehearted mama’s boy, he loved dinosaurs and he thought he was a dinosaur we called him Dino-Dom. He was goofy and always happy and so destructive. My children were amazing boys, and they deserve to be remembered and I’m glad they’re finally getting justice.”
Photo courtesy of Miranda Martin
Shortly before 5:45 p.m. April 16, 2022, Pelfrey, who did not have a valid license, was driving a red 2011 Kia Optima westbound on State Road 46 near Wekiva Pines Road in Sorrento and passing vehicles in a no-passing zone, the Florida Highway Patrol said in 2022. The Kia entered the eastbound lane and the path of a blue 2011 Toyota Tundra pickup truck being driven by Carey David Duryea, of Lake Mary. Duryea took evasive action, according to witnesses, and traveled onto the south shoulder. Pelfrey traveled onto the same shoulder and struck the Tundra head-on, causing it to overturn and catch fire. The impact ejected Damian Pelfrey, 4, and his little brother, Dominic Shane Pelfrey, 2, from the Optima and they were both pronounced deceased on the scene. Their younger brother, Daylen Scott Pelfrey, then just 1 year old, was transported to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando.
Pelfrey, and another passenger, Justice Marie Lavery were transported to HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford along with Duryea, Natalio Ramirez Velazquez and Olinto Garcia. Aldrin Greeis Perez Rodriguez and Marvin Armando were transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares.
Witnesses told FHP Pelfrey was driving between 65 and 75 miles per hour and one witness said she could smell alcohol when she went to the car to check on the occupants following the crash, according to a probable affidavit.
Photo courtesy of Miranda Martin
Troopers later traveled to Sanford to speak to Pelfrey and obtain a blood sample and he refused. They obtained a search warrant for Pelfrey’s blood, and it was drawn twice, at 2:15 a.m. and 2:16 a.m. April 17, 2022—nearly nine hours after the crash. A test performed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement revealed the presence of fentanyl, THC and hydromorphone in his system. That test did not show the presence of alcohol, but FHP secured a search warrant for medical blood taken at 7:59 p.m. April 16, 2022, about two hours after the crash. That blood sample, tested using enzymatic testing, showed Pelfrey had a blood alcohol level (BAL) of .135, more than 1.5 times the legal limit.
The sample was also sent to the University of Florida Pathology Laboratories, which used chromatograph testing. Its test showed Pelfrey’s BAL was .102 and did not show the presence of drugs.
A warrant was issued for Pelfrey’s arrest Jan. 14, and he was picked up at his home Thursday and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on no bond. Pelfrey is also facing a charge of kidnapping and battery in a separate case. That case remains open.
Update: Bernard Jeanty has been found in Volusia County.
SORRENTO, Fla.—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a man who was last seen Thursday at his home in Sorrento.
According to an LCSO social media post, Bernard Jeanty, 51, left his home sometime during the day in his black 2019 Nissan Pathfinder, along with his dog.
Jeanty is described as a black male, 5 feet 11 inches tall and approximately 150 to 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing pink sweatpants and a black shirt.
If you have information on Jeanty’s whereabouts, call LCSO Det. VanBuskirk at 352-343-9529 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
Update: Linda Billig was found in Winter Springs, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
SORRENTO, Fla.—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance with locating an 80-year-old Sorrento woman reported missing Monday morning.
Linda Derr Billig, 80, was reported missing from her home on PGA Drive in Sorrento shortly before 8:45 a.m. and suffers from dementia, LCSO Public Information Officer Chanel Martin said.
A Silvert Alert has been issued for Billig, and she is described as a white female, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with gray hair, brown eyes and weighs approximately 175 pounds. She is believed to be driving a 2004 white Toyota Highlander with a specialty tag, “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” RLM259 and may be wearing pajamas.
If you see Billig or know her whereabouts, call LCSO 352-343-2101.
LINCOLN PARISH, La.—The mom accused of kidnapping her two daughters from a Lake County foster home fled from Louisiana State Police (LSP) when they attempted stop her Friday and is now facing additional charges.
LSP troopers received information from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office that Dixie Williams, 41, may be traveling on Interstate 20 in a silver Nissan Rogue and troopers spotted the Nissan and initiated a traffic stop, just before 12:15 p.m. local time. Williams came to a brief stop on Interstate 20 westbound, east of LA-145 and then fled from troopers, according to LSP.
After a brief pursuit by LSP and Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies, a “tire deflation device” was deployed and Williams came to a stop, LSP said.
Williams was taken into custody and Tilli, 5, and Natalia, 18 months, who were not in child safety seats, were safely recovered by law enforcement. They were turned over to the Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services.
Williams is now facing two counts of kidnapping in Lake County, and numerous charges in Louisiana, including aggravated flight from an officer, operating a vehicle with a suspended license, resisting an officer, two counts of no child passenger restraint system and no seat belt use.
SORRENTO, Fla.—An Amber Alert has been issued for two children missing from Sorrento.
At 7 a.m. Thursday, the foster mother of Tilli and Natalia Williams reported the girls missing from her home at 23419 Companero Drive in Sorrento. She told the Lake County Sheriff’s Office she last saw the girls at 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to LCSO Lt. John Herrell.
According to the Amber Alert, the girls may be in the company of Dixie Williams, 41. Williams is described as a white female, 5 feet, 2 inches tall, with brown hair and brown eyes, and weighs approximately 200 pounds. She is also known to use the last name “Stumpner.”
Tilli Claire Williams
Tilli is 5 years old, 3 feet, 5 inches tall, approximately 45 pounds, with long, straight brown hair and was last seen wearing gray or navy-blue pajamas with multi-colored hearts.
Natalia Williams
Natalia is 18 months old, 2 feet, 5 inches tall, approximately 30 pounds, with short, brown curly hair and was last seen wearing a pink pajama gown and pink pants with hearts.
If you have information on the girls’ whereabouts, call 911.
SORRENTO, Fla.—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a pair of young sisters who disappeared from their Sorrento foster home overnight.
At 7 a.m. Thursday, the foster mother of Tillie and Natalia Williams reported the girls missing from her home at 23419 Companero Drive in Sorrento. She told LCSO she last saw the girls at 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to LCSO Lt. John Herrell.
“Lake County Sheriff’s detectives are on scene and actively investigating. Detectives are looking into the possibility that the juveniles are with their biological mother and father, or if they have any information,” Herrell said in an email.
It is unknown how or when the girls left the home.
Tillie Claire Williams
Tillie is 5 years old, 3 feet, 5 inches tall, approximately 45 pounds, with long, straight brown hair and was last seen wearing gray or navy-blue pajamas with multi-colored hearts.
Natalia Williams
Natalia is 18 months old, 2 feet, 5 inches tall, approximately 30 pounds, with short, brown curly hair and was last seen wearing a pink pajama gown and pink pants with hearts.
If you have information on the girls’ whereabouts, call 911.
EUSTIS, Fla.—A community plans to come together Sunday afternoon to raise money for three children injured in a crash that killed their moms in Connecticut last month.
On Oct. 22, Lacey Marie Price, 32, and Rebecca “Becky” Marie Schutte, 36, both of Sorrento, were passengers in a Lincoln Aviator being driven by Kory Watson, 40, of Hillsville, Va. Watson veered into the right lane for an unknown reason on Interstate 91 South in Wethersfield, Conn. and collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer parked on the right shoulder.
The collision killed Watson and Price; Schutte was transported to Hartford Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. Schutte’s two children, Hailyn, 11 and Braysen, 9, and Price’s daughter, Willow, 7, were also in the Aviator at the time of the crash. Connecticut State Police said the children received minor injuries in the hours after the crash, but they were all severely injured.
Hailyn suffered a broken neck, shattered hip, a broken leg and head lacerations. Braysen suffered a shattered spine and bruised kidneys, and Willow suffered a compression spinal fracture and fractured wrist. All three children have since been released from the hospital, but have a long road ahead of them, both physically and emotionally.
A benefit concert featuring Nails Creek Records recording artists Dallas Tyler and Zach Denby is scheduled for noon Sunday at Crossroads 44, 36721 County Road 19A, Eustis. The benefit will also include $10 BBQ dinners, a 50/50 raffle, live auction of donated merchandise and $2 Jello shots. All proceeds will benefit the children. Admission is $15 and tickets can be purchased at the gate.
John Conley, one of the organizers of the event spoke to Inside Lake about his friendship with Price and Schutte and said they loved their children immensely.
“Lacey and Becky were a lot alike in many ways,” Conley said. “They were outspoken and stood up for what they thought was right. If either one of them had something to say, you were going to hear it, like it or not.”
Conley spoke of their giving nature and their smiles.
“They would give the shirt off their backs if you were in need,” Conley said. “They had a good sense of humor and had contagious smiles when they entered a room. They were genuine women who you could count on to be there. If they were in your corner, they had your back.”
His memories of the two women span many years; Price grew up just four houses down from his grandparents and he met Schutte in middle school, along with her brother Chris. Schutte and her brother lived just a neighborhood away from Conley’s grandparents and Price.
Conley fondly remembers just riding and “jamming out” with Price. “(The) last time that happened we ended up at Coconuts on the Beach day drinking,” he said with a laugh.
He also told Inside Lake about the time Schutte talked him into letting a guy she was dating at the time recolor a faded tattoo. “Long story short, he couldn’t color in the lines, and she had to fixt it,” he said.
Lacey Price and John Conley
Conley was struck by tragedy more than once last month. On Oct. 26—just four days after he lost Price and Schutte—he lost another family friend, Richard “Rick” McPhee, after he succumbed to injuries suffered in a hit-and-run-crash in July. The driver who hit McPhee as he was riding his bicycle to work on Wolf Branch Road, still has not been identified.
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