THE VILLAGES, Fla.—The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a Lady Lake man who has not been seen since Tuesday morning, it said in a social media post.
Ryan Kenney, 52, who has a history of medical issues, was last seen Tuesday morning on his silver bicycle around the area of Lake Sumter Landing. He is described at a white male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a brown plaid shirt and shorts, according to SCSO. If you see Kenney or know his whereabouts, call SCSO at 352-793-2621.
LEESBURG, Fla.—The Lake-Sumter State College Foundation honored its Distinguished Alumni and Hall of Fame recipients Tuesday night in a ceremony held at the Everett A. Kelly Convocation Center at the college’s Leesburg campus.
Nine individuals and a community organization were recognized for their achievements and contributions to the community in front of a large crowd that enjoyed a three-course dinner and video testimonials from the recipients.
Each year, the LSSC Foundation Board of Directors select the recipients from nominations made by the public to receive distinguished alumni awards. For the first time its 12-year history, two people were awarded the prestigious Professional Achievement Award, and one of the recipients was Inside Lake’s Publisher Marilyn Aciego.
Aciego discovered her passion for journalism at Lake-Sumter State College after taking a media class and later became editor of both The Angler and The Odyssey, LSSC’s student publications. She was hired by the Daily Commercial while she was still a student at LSSC and worked her way up to the lead cops and courts reporter. She covered numerous stories that gained national interest, including the death of beloved Sheriff Chris Daniels, a murder committed by identical twins and the disappearance of Trenton Duckett. Aciego’s coverage of these stories lead to appearances on Nancy Grace dozens of times and an episode of Evil Twins on Investigation Discovery.
Lake-Sumter State College Foundation 2023 Hall of Fame recipient Toni Upchurch and Distinguished Alumni recipient Marilyn Aciego.
She left the Daily Commercial in 2009 and began working for an international media organization in an entry-level position and was named Florida bureau chief just three years later. In 2010, she joined recently-retired attorney James Hope to write local stories for Hope’s Lake Legal News magazine, rising to editor-in-chief and then partnering with Hope to start the online edition that focused on breaking crime and public safety news.
In 2021, Aciego and Hope dissolved their partnership and Aciego rebranded Lake Legal News to Inside Lake and began covering general news along with crime news.
“Lake County was becoming a news desert,” Aciego said. “I knew it was time to start Inside Lake.”
It was these achievements that earned Aciego the prestigious Professional Achievement Award and Tuesday night she shared that honor with Sandra Wilson, a 1989 graduate of LSSC.
Lake-Sumter State College Foundation Distinguished Alumni and Hall of Fame 2023
Marilyn Aciego—Distinguished Alumni, Professional Achievement Award
Sandra Wilson— Distinguished Alumni, Professional Achievement Award
Pat Atley— Distinguished Alumni, Scholar Award
Christine Boodhoo— Distinguished Alumni, Valor Award
Juliana Green— Distinguished Alumni, Community Engagement Award
Andrew LoFaro—Distinguished Alumni, Graduate of the Last Decade Award
Toni Upchurch— Hall of Fame, Faculty Award
Kevin Yurasek— Hall of Fame, Staff Award
Patrick Ryan— Hall of Fame, Athletics Award
The Live Well Foundation of South Lake— Hall of Fame, Community Partner Award
SUMTER COUNTY, Florida—A Mascotte mom and her 7-month-old daughter were tragically killed Monday morning after the mom ran a stop sign, struck a car and then a tractor-trailer, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Just before 9:15 a.m., the Mascotte mom was driving a sedan eastbound on County Road 476 in Sumter County when she ran a stop sign at the intersection of State Road 471 and struck another sedan being driven by a 32-year-old Mascotte woman. The second sedan rotated and came to a stop on the west shoulder of State Road 471. The woman driving the second sedan and a 3-year-old girl in the car with her suffered minor injuries. A 4-year-old girl, also in the car, was not injured, FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said in a press release.
The first sedan continued and collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer being driven by a 57-year-old man of Winnsboro, South Carolina. The Mascotte mom and her baby suffered fatal injuries; the driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.
SUMTER COUNTY, Florida—The Florida Highway Patrol has identified a pedestrian killed on County Road 470 Saturday night.
Troopers were unable to identify the man following the crash and released a photo of his tattoo Sunday. He has now been identified as a 25-year-old Bushnell man, according to FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins.
A 42-year-old Bartow woman was driving an SUV westbound on County Road 470, west of County Road 533, around 11:30 p.m. Saturday when the man walked into the path of the SUV, Gaskins said in a press release.
The man was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries. The Bartow woman and her passenger, a 42-year-old Haines City man, were not injured.
SUMTER COUNTY, Florida—The Florida Highway Patrol is seeking assistance in identifying a male who was killed on County Road 470 in Sumter County Saturday night.
A 42-year-old Bartow woman was driving an SUV westbound on County Road 470, west of County Road 533, around 11:30 p.m. Saturday when a male walked into the path of the SUV, FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said in a press release.
The Florida Highway Patrol is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a male pedestrian killed in Sumter County Saturday night. They released a photo of a tattoo the male had. If you have information on the male’s identity, call troopers at *FHP (347) or 813-558-1800, option 3.
The male was struck by the SUV transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries. The Bartow woman and her passenger, a 42-yeqar-old Haines City man, were not injured. FHP has been unable to identify the pedestrian and released a photo of a tattoo he had.
If you have information on the male’s identity, call troopers at *FHP (347) or 813-558-1800, option 3.
SUMTER COUNTY, Florida—A Leesburg man is being held in the Sumter County Jail after fleeing a crash that killed a Kissimmee motorcyclist, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Lloyd Douglas Walters, 59, was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee westbound on State Road 44 in the left turn lane near County Road 171 while a 51-year-old Kissimmee man riding a Suzuki motorcycle was traveling westbound on State Road 44 in the inside lane at 7:25 p.m. Thursday.
Walters changed lanes and collided with the motorcycle, ejecting its rider. The motorcyclist was taken to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries, FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said in a press release.
Walters fled the scene and was apprehended by Sumter County Sheriff’s Office deputies just a few miles away at State Road 44 and Morse Boulevard, Gaskins said. Troopers arrested Walters for DUI manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash involving death and no valid driver license.
LEESBURG, Florida—A man reported missing Wednesday has been found dead in Marion County and a Wildwood man has been arrested in his death, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
On Wednesday, a friend of Casey Dean’s told LCSO they heard Dean had been killed and was last seen with Matthew Luke “Maniac” Allen, 26, on Sunday riding with Allen and unidentified person in a red 2015 Dodge Ram.
Deputies went to a home on Misty Meadows Drive in attempt to find Dean, Allen or the truck and were unsuccessful. They found the door to the guest house on the property ajar and spoke to a woman at the main house and told her they were looking for Allen because he had several felony warrants. She told deputies Allen was a “bad man” who her daughter recently met on the dating app, “Plenty of Fish,” according to a probable cause affidavit.
The woman called her daughter and asked her to come home and the daughter advised Allen had stolen the Ram and she was on her way home. When she arrived, she told deputies on Sunday afternoon, Allen was standing across from Dean with a coffee table in between them. A man identified by his nickname. “Meeche” was on the couch with his girlfriend and two juveniles were in the room, due to heavy redaction in the affidavit, it is unclear who the children belong to. Allen was yelling at Dean about a gun on the table that was believed to be inoperable. As the unidentified female went into the bathroom. Allen said, “Why would you pull a gun on people that doesn’t work?” immediately followed by a gunshot, the affidavit states.
Matthew “Maniac” Allen PHOTO: Marion County Sheriff’s Office
The unidentified woman ran from the bathroom and observed Dean bleeding heavily from his upper body and begging for help. Allen asked Dean if he could put the gun in his hand and make it look like a suicide and never called for help. Dean died from his injuries on the couch.
Allen threatened to kill the woman and her children if she did not help dispose of the body, and text messages found by LCSO corroborated her fears, a detective noted in the affidavit.
“Meeche” and Allen rolled Dean’s body up in an old rug and placed his body in the back of the Ram and Allen forced the woman to drive the children to their mother in Ocala. After they dropped the children off, they drove to a home near County Road 42 and County Road 25 in the Weirsdale area of Marion County and dumped Dean’s body near Allen’s friend’s house. Allen then forced the woman to drive to Orlando, where they dumped the rug in a dumpster on an unknown road.
They stayed in an undisclosed location until Wednesday when she convinced Allen to let her go home to get clothes since he planned on fleeing the state the following day. She was permitted to use a car and she dumped it at Brooks Buck and Does, 21075 Southeast Highway 42, Umatilla and called a friend to pick her up. She told deputies she believed Allen would kill her too, the affidavit states.
A search warrant at the guest house revealed blood evidence and a bullet lodged in the wall; the woman helped lead law enforcement to Dean’s body and he was later found to have died from a bullet wound to the neck.
Detectives interviewed the juvenile witnesses, who corroborated the woman’s story and at least one of the children seemed traumatized by the killing, according to the affidavit. Allen was taken into custody by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for several felony Sumter County warrants including drug charges and failure to appear. He is facing numerous charges in Dean’s death, including manslaughter, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, unlawful transportation of human remains, grand theft auto and child neglect. He is being held in the Marion County Jail on no bond.
