Tavares

TAVARES, Florida—A 21-year-old woman apparently upset that an elderly man asked her if she was done with gym equipment was arrested on a warrant for smacking the man in the face with a shoe in June, according to a probable cause affidavit. On June 28, Tavares Police responded to a report of a fight at the YMCA, 1465 David Walker Drive.  When an officer arrived, the victim, 75, and two employees told him a woman identified as Claudia Elena Sanchez-Olavarrieta hit the man in the face with her shoe. Sanchez-Olavarrieta had already left the scene, according to the affidavit. The

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department is investigating a home invasion and shooting that occurred early Tuesday morning. The 39-year-old male victim was alone at his home in the 1300 block of Alfred Street around midnight Tuesday when two men kicked in his door, according to TPD Lt. Jon Hall. Two shots were fired by the suspects, described only as black males, and at least one struck the victim, Hall told Inside Lake. The man was transported to a local hospital where he remains with non-life-threatening injuries. It is still a very active investigation, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office CSI was

TAVARES, Florida—A California man is being held on just $16,500 bond after his friend went to Tavares Police Department covered in blood Saturday morning, with her eye swollen shut and asked for help after he allegedly stabbed and beat her. The victim, who appeared to have multiple stab wounds on her chest and shoulders, told TPD her friend, Oren Derell Warren, 57, of Sacramento, Calif., beat and stabbed her at her home in Tavares. She said Warren began arguing with her early Saturday morning over borrowing her car and he repeatedly choked her, kicked her and punched her, but she

TAVARES, Florida—A Tavares man is being held in the Lake County Jail on $10,000 bond for biting part of a man’s finger off Sunday and admitting it to Tavares Police. Shortly before 4: 30 p.m., TPD was notified that a man’s finger was bitten off at Summerall Park, 1001 Wells Avenue, Tavares and the victim was being treated at AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares, according to an arrest affidavit. TPD responded to the hospital and the victim said while he was at the park, Daniel Jermaine Campbell, 37, approached him and asked if he knew where someone was. The victim said

TAVARES, Florida—Parachutes are scheduled to decorate the sky over Lake Dora when the Phantom Airborne Brigade presents its Phantom Family Day Water Jump Saturday at Tavares’ Wooton Park. The first drop is scheduled for 10 a.m. with additional paratroopers jumping every 20 minutes. Four flights are scheduled with a total of eight passes and each pass will include 10 paratroopers jumping simultaneously, according to City of Tavares Director of Public Communications and Emergency Management Mark O’Keefe. The aircraft, Tico Belle, is a WWII C-47 Skytrain and dropped paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne into Normandy on D-Day, Operation Market Garden in

UPDATE: This story now contains Stone’s mugshot that was released after press time. TAVARES, Florida—A Lake County Sheriff’s Office sergeant has been arrested for solicitation of prostitution after an investigation found he paid someone for sex for 8 months, with one encounter allegedly occurring on duty. Sgt. Scott Stone, a 17-year veteran of LCSO turned himself in to the Lake County Jail on the warrant, LCSO Lt. John Herrell said in a press release. In March, LCSO received “vague information from a citizen who advised there was a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office who was possibly paying for sex,” Herrell

TAVARES, Florida—There will be a new police chief in town Aug. 31. Tavares Police Lt. Sarah Coursey has been appointed as the new chief by City Administrator John Drury and will succeed current Chief Stoney Lubins when he retires Aug. 31 after 30 years at TPD and 21 years as chief. “Over the past 21 years, under the leadership of Chief Lubins, TPD has continued to aggressively fight crime, innovate with new technology, and further increase transparency with our community,” Drury said in a press release. “It’s been an honor to work together with Chief Lubins to protect and serve

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department is investigating an armed robbery that occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday night, TPD Lt. Sarah Coursey told Inside Lake. TPD patrol officers responded to Sun Foods, 1165 East Alfred Street after a customer reported the robbery, according to a report. Two black males, with their faces covered, entered the store and demanded money from the clerk, the witness said. The robbers took an undisclosed amount of money from the register and one of the males fired a shot, hitting some canned sodas, and they fled the scene on foot, Coursey said. A TPD detective responded,

TAVARES, Florida—A body has been found by first responders who were searching for a man who was spotted jumping off Dead River Bridge Wednesday afternoon. The man had not been identified at press time. When he is identified, police must notify next of kin before releasing the man’s name. A witness called Tavares Police Department shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday and reported seeing a man jump from Dead River Bridge and Tavares Police quickly responded and asked for assistance from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, Lt. Sarah Coursey told Inside Lake. A pair of shoes was found in

TAVARES, Florida—A call about a reckless golf cart driver landed a Tavares man in jail, for DUI Friday night after he ran from police and admitted he had been drinking wine all night and was drunk, according to an arrest affidavit. Tavares Police responded to the downtown area around 9:15 p.m. Friday on a report of a man driving a golf cart who almost struck a pedestrian. The complainant stated the man was possibly drunk and possibly being aggressive with people. The man, later identified as Robert William Lodsin, 51, was pulling out of a parking lot as TPD arrived

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department in investigating a crash that resulted in the death of one person Tuesday morning, according to TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan. The crash occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of Dora Avenue and David Walker Drive and closed the intersection and a portion of Dora Avenue. At press time, the road had been closed for more than two hours. One person was killed and TPD is not releasing the person’s identity, pending notification of next of kin, Sullivan said. This is a developing story.

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department is searching for a suspect who shot two people Friday night at an apartment complex, killing one of them, TPD Det. Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake. TPD responded to a report of a shooting at Caroline Court Apartments, 1000 E. Caroline Street shortly after 8 p.m. The suspect fled the scene and had not been apprehended at press time. One person was killed and the second person was airlifted to a local hospital. The names of the victims are not being released pending notification of next of kin, Sullivan said. TPD detectives are asking anyone with

TAVARES, Florida—A homeless man was arrested Wednesday after he pulled a realistic-looking BB gun on lawn maintenance worker because his leaf blower was disturbing the man’s sleep. The worker called Tavares Police around 7:30 a.m. and said he got into a confrontation with two homeless subjects, one later identified as William Ray Turner, 35. Inside Lake is not naming the second subject because he was not charged with a crime. The victim said he was working on a property on Classique Lane when Turner and the second man confronted him. He said Turner pulled a pistol from his pants and

TAVARES, Florida—Tavares Police Department has released the names of the four restaurant employees accused of serving minors Friday night. TPD utilized three confidential informants for its undercover operation and each one used their actual state issued identification, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake. No fake IDs were used in the operation. One informant is 20 and will not turn 21 until close to the end of 2022 and the other two informants are under 18, according to a report. Around 7:30 p.m., the informants went to Dog House, 201 West Ruby Street and sat at the bar.

TAVARES, Florida—In an effort to deter a small uptick in minor juvenile crimes downtown, Tavares Police Department performed underage alcohol buys Friday and four of the eight establishments they tried to buy from sold alcohol to minors, according to TPD Lt. Sarah Coursey. “We were informed there were some issues downtown, so we acted quickly to try to prevent further problems like fights, DUIs and disturbances,” Coursey told Inside Lake. “One of our officers stopped a minor walking downtown with a beer just a few days ago.” Buster Tubbs, 110 South New Hampshire Avenue, Puddle Jumpers Lakeside Grill & Bar,

ORANGE COUNTY, Florida—A Tavares woman received minor injuries in a crash that killed a motorcyclist from Apopka Saturday night, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. A 19-year-old Apopka woman was northbound in a sedan on Orange Blossom Trail at Jones Avenue in the Zellwood area around 8:45 p.m. Saturday. A 51-year-old man, also of Apopka, was riding a motorcycle southbound on Orange Blossom Trail and a Tavares woman, 59, in a sedan was stopped on Jones Avenue at the intersection of Orange Blossom Trail, FHP Lt. Kim Montes said in a press release. The Apopka woman attempted to make a

TAVARES. Florida— A 20-year-old man suffered at least one gunshot wound during a drive-by shooting in Tavares late Saturday night. Joshua Williams II was outside of a home on West Maud Street when the shooting occurred, according to Tavares Police Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan. “Mr. Williams was transported to a local hospital and is being treated for his injuries that he sustained from the incident,” Sullivan said.   Police are investigating the motive behind the shooting and expect to release more information once it is available. If you have information on Saturday’s drive-by shooting, call TPD at 352-343-2101.

TAVARES, Florida—Britney Ochoa has a lot to be grateful for this holiday season. Last month, just before she was about to go to bed around 11 p.m., her mom’s instinct kicked in and she checked on her son Elias to find he was not breathing. Just 2 months old at the time, Elias had spent the beginning of his life in the hospital and mom had just recently brought him home. Ochoa, 22, called 9-1-1 and some might say Elias’ guardian angel appeared in the form of Tavares Police Officer Teddy Pearl. Pearl arrived on scene to find Ochoa performing

TAVARES, Florida—Following in line with its motto, “People helping people,” Tavares Police Department has launched a new initiative to get to know its community members with special needs. TPD announced Friday on its Facebook page, it is creating a database that will include details about individuals who may require a different response from officers and is asking for the public’s assistance to gather information and give the agency any ideas they feel will make the program better. If you have a family member or friend with special needs, such as autism, Alzheimer’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy or any other