Umatilla

Orlando man convicted of Umatilla murder, sentenced to life in prison

TAVARES, Fla.—One of the men accused of murdering a Umatilla man in 2022 will spend the rest of his life in prison, according to Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson’s Office.

“The actions of this defendant were calculated, deliberate, and devoid of remorse,” said Walter Forgie, Chief Assistant State Attorney. “Justice demands accountability for such actions.”

Antwain “Lil Daddy” Hart was murdered in Umatilla in 2022. One of three men suspected of his murder was convicted Thursday and sentenced to life in prison. PHOTO: Hart Family

Undray Benson, 53, of Orlando was found guilty in the first-degree murder of Antwain “Lil Daddy” Hart, 31, Thursday following a bench trial, and he was sentenced to life in prison by Judge James Baxley. Only Inside Lake was on the scene Nov. 8. 2022 after Hart was found shot multiple times in his mother’s front yard on Merrell Avenue in Umatilla. Hart died during transport to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Herrell told Inside Lake the day of the murder.

Hart’s rental vehicle, a 2022 white Jeep Cherokee, was stolen at the time of his murder and found about 12 hours later behind the First Church of God Eustis, 1550 North Highway 19, by Eustis Police Department officers. The church is just 3.7 miles from the murder scene. The investigation revealed an unknown white Mercedes was spotted near Merrell Avenue and LCSO detectives obtained surveillance footage that showed a rented white Mercedes linked to Marvin Ellison, near the murder scene and Hart’s dumped rental vehicle. Phone records also indicated a route consistent with the crime scene and the victim’s vehicle’s location.

Antwain Hart was shot and killed in his mother’s yard on Merrell Avenue in Umatilla Nov. 8, 2022.  PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake

Detectives also obtained video of three individuals unloading the white Mercedes into an apartment leased by a family member of Benson, associated with “Dray’s Spot Detailing,” and an additional suspect, Deandre Anderson, was identified through that footage. Drugs and a 9mm handgun, which matched the weapon used to kill Hart were found during the search of the apartment. Detectives determined through evidence and their investigation, Undray, Anderson and Ellison collaborated to murder Hart, possibly motivated by the presence of illegal narcotics in the victim’s vehicle, according to Gladson’s office.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested Benson about five months after Hart’s murder and by July 2023, Anderson and Ellison were also in custody. Assistant State Attorneys Gabe Lozano and Nicholas Camuccio prosecuted Benson and he was represented by Attorney Jeffrey Pfister of Tavares. Anderson and Ellison are scheduled to stand trial next week.

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Argument about infidelity leads to shooting in Altoona

ALTOONA, Fla.—An argument about infidelity left one man shot and sent another to jail Thursday afternoon, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Shortly before 4:15 p.m. Thursday, LCSO responded to 19331 East Altoona Road on a report of a verbal altercation, and when a deputy arrived, he found James Andrew Carroll 48, lying on his side suffering from a gunshot wound to his lower torso. The deputy rendered aid to Carroll until EMS arrived and Carroll was airlifted to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. His condition is currently unknown, LCSO Lt. John Herrell told Inside Lake.

Carroll’s girlfriend, Shana Cottle, told LCSO Carroll was working on her vehicle when she pulled up to the home with John Cornelius Devereaux in a white Toyota Camry. Carroll began yelling vulgarities at Cottle and Devereaux, believing Cottle was being unfaithful and demanding she get out of the car, according to an affidavit.

Devereaux, 61, pulled out a silver revolver and Cottle got out the car and ran. She then heard Carroll yelling he had been shot and as she returned to the area, Carroll told Devereaux to leave. Cottle yelled at Devereaux to give her back her bag and leave. Devereaux gave her the bag and left, and she went to Carroll to check on him, according to the affidavit.

Deputies located Devereaux, who is homeless, about a mile away at a Circle K gas station and took him into custody. Deputies located the revolver and extra ammunition in the Camry and Devereaux had more than $3,000 cash in the vehicle. He told deputies the money was from his deceased mother, the arresting deputy noted in the affidavit.

Devereaux was arrested for attempted murder and is now facing an added charge of failure to provide DNA. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond.

Argument about infidelity leads to shooting in Altoona Read More »

Head-on crash kills Umatilla man Wednesday

ALTOONA, Fla.—A head-on crash claimed the life of a Umatilla man Wednesday afternoon and a seriously injured a Umatilla woman, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Shortly after 3 p.m., the 42-year-old Umatilla woman was driving a 2018 Honda Accord westbound on County Road 42, approaching Penley Lane in Altoona and traveled into the eastbound lane, striking a 2021 GMC Sierra head-on.

The woman was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares with serious injuries; her passenger, a 45-year-old Umatilla man, was also transported to AdventHealth Waterman, where he was pronounced deceased. An earlier report by Inside Lake stated the man was driving the Honda; in an update, FHP said the woman was driving the Honda. The driver of the GMC, a 54-year-old Altoona man, was not injured. The crash closed County Road 42 for nearly six hours.

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Fatal crash shuts down CR 42 in Altoona

ALTOONA, Fla.—A Umatilla man has died following a crash on a busy Altoona road Wednesday afternoon.

The Umatilla man, 45, was driving a 2018 Honda Accord and collided with a 2021 GMC Sierra on County Road 42 at Penley Lane around 3 p.m. The details on how the crash occurred have not been released by the Florida Highway Patrol.

The Umatilla man was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares, where he was pronounced deceased.

County Road 42 remained shut down between State Road 19 and County Road 450 at press time, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies are rerouting traffic at Big Oak Road to East Altoona Road.

This is a developing story.

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Affidavit: Man accused of child sex crimes admits misdeeds in texts, controlled phone call and interview

UMATILLA, Fla.—A 29-year-old man who has ties to Eustis and Umatilla is in the Lake County Jail on no bond accused of multiple sex crimes against children.

Arsenio Quinones, who lives in Umatilla, but has a Eustis mailing address, was arrested by a Lake County Sheriff’s detective Thursday after agreeing to meet with the detective at a home in Umatilla and admitting he committed sex crimes against two separate juvenile victims, according to a heavily redacted arrest affidavit.

Both victims’ names, ages and addresses are redacted from the affidavit to protect their identities.

In October 2023, victim one reported Quinones had touched her in a sexual manner at least six years ago and she had text messages between her and Quinones proving her allegations. She showed law enforcement the messages where she asked Quinones why he had manipulated her into doing sexual things with him. He reportedly responded, “There’s no reason or excuse…I’m telling you this stays in my head about wtf happened. I don’t just live myself forgetting and leaving it in the past…I hate who I was and I wish I can either end it or do whatever it is I need to do to make it better. I know you don’t care about me and what I have to say. But I am genuinely sorry for putting you through that and destroying any time of image you have of me and life. You didn’t deserve it and shouldn’t have been taught…”

The victim told her family what allegedly happened, and she gave a second victim a case number to contact law enforcement. Victim one told the detective there may have been a witness to the abuse of victim two.

Victim one was contacted at a “later date” by an LCSO detective, and she described the abuse in detail; Inside Lake is not including the details in this story, due to their graphic nature.

Victim one made a controlled phone to Quinones Wednesday, and she confronted him about the abuse she said lasted four to five years. Quinones apologized multiple times and victim one mentioned victim two and Quinones reportedly stated the abuse was “not forced.” A controlled phone call is an arranged call made between a victim and a suspect, monitored and recorded by law enforcement.

Victim two told the detective two different abuse incidents occurred at two different homes, and the first incident occurred in either 2016 or 2017. She said Quinones asked her if she would be his girlfriend and then touched over and under her clothes. During the second abuse incident, Quinones took the abuse much further, she told the detective in detail.

Following the interviews with both victims and the controlled phone call, the LCSO detective went to the home of Quiniones’ mother and gave his number to her so Quinones could contact him. He called the detective a brief time later, and the detective went to a home in Umatilla to speak with him in person and, according to the affidavit, Quinones told the detective victim one was curious, so they engaged in sexual activity. He said he did not think it happened as much as victim one said it did, but she “may have been correct.”

Quinones then admitted to sexual activity with victim two, and said he did not force either victim. Quinones was arrested for two counts each of sexual battery on a victim under 12 and lewd or lascivious battery, victim 12 to under 16: three counts of lewd or lascivious molestation on a victim 12 to under 16, sexual battery on a victim 12 to under 18 and lewd or lascivious molestation, victim under 12. He was transported to the LCJ, where he remains on no bond.

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Umatilla motorcyclist killed, another seriously injured after wrong-way driver causes late night crash

EUSTIS, Fla.—A wrong-way crash killed a 20-year-old man and sent a 41-year-old man to the hospital shortly before midnight Saturday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A 49-year-old Eustis man was driving a 2017 Dodge Ram 2500 westbound in the eastbound lane of State Road 44 when he struck a 2024 Harley-Davidson Sportster head-on, near Hammond Lane. The 20-year-old rider was killed; a second motorcyclist, a 41-year-old man riding 2003 Suzuki VL800K, swerved and laid the bike down on the roadway, FHP said.

The 20-year-old Umatilla man was pronounced deceased on the scene, the 41-year-old man, also of Umatilla, was transported to HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Ram was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.

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BREAKING NEWS: 911 down in Lake County

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.

BREAKING NEWS: 911 down in Lake County Read More »

BREAKING NEWS: Fatal crash shuts down 2 Umatilla roads Tuesday

UMATILLA, Fla.—A Tuesday morning crash killed a Umatilla man and sent another to the hospital, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Shortly before 6:15 a.m., a 2008 Toyota Tacoma being driven by a 40-year-old Umatilla man was stopped southbound at the stop sign at Pine Street and County Road 450A in unincorporated Umatilla. The Tacoma failed to yield to a 1996 Honda Civic being driven westbound on County Road 450A by a 32-year-old Umatilla man, FHP said.

The front of the Tacoma collided with the left side the Civic, seriously injuring the driver of the Tacoma. The driver of the Civic was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares, where he was pronounced deceased, and the Tacoma driver was transported to HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford with serious injuries.

At press time, there was a roadblock at all four directions of the intersection, Trooper Migdalisis Garcia said. The crash remains under investigation.

BREAKING NEWS: Fatal crash shuts down 2 Umatilla roads Tuesday Read More »

Information finally released following search warrants executed on gaming facilities earlier this month

LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—Only Inside Lake was on the scene earlier this month as Lake County Sheriff’s Office detectives, in conjunction with the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) searched an internet gaming facility in unincorporated Umatilla, and LCSO has finally released information regarding that search warrant and three more.

On June 13, 2024, four search warrants were executed at different illegal gaming establishments in Lake County. Detectives with the Leesburg, Clermont, Eustis, and Mount Dora police departments also assisted with the investigation that stemmed from continued concerns that illegal gambling throughout Lake County leads to an increase in law enforcement calls for service, criminal activity, and other threats to public safety, LCSO spokesperson Chanel Martin said.

The Umatilla location was the site of an attempted armed robbery in August 2022; in that a incident a security guard was shot. No arrests have been made in that case.

“Illegal gambling establishments operate outside the legal, regulated market to exploit vulnerable Floridians. They are usually associated with organized crime, do not generate state tax revenue, and do not provide the same consumer protections or safeguards as legal gaming operators,” said Lou Trombetta, FGCC Executive Director.

Detectives seized approximately 170 gaming machines and approximately $211,000 from the Hot Spot,11145 U.S HWY 441, Tavares; Hot Spot, 11203 U.S. HWY 441, Tavares. Cyber Monkey. 23505 State Road 40, Astor and Hot Spot II, 37415 SR 19, Umatilla, according to Martin.

Detectives seized all illegal gaming devices and issued misdemeanor notices to appear in lieu of physical arrests to six operating employees. The citations were issued with reference to Florida State Statue 849.01, which states it is illegal to keep or maintain a gambling house.

Previous stories: Law enforcement investigating internet gaming facilities in unincorporated Umatilla and Tavares – Inside Lake

LCSO Searching for 2 Suspects After Security Guard was Shot in Attempted Robbery Wednesday Night – Inside Lake

Information finally released following search warrants executed on gaming facilities earlier this month Read More »

Law enforcement investigating internet gaming facilities in unincorporated Umatilla and Tavares

LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—There is a large law enforcement presence at two internet gaming facilities, one in unincorporated Umatilla and one in unincorporated Tavares, Thursday morning and Inside Lake is working to find out why.

Inside Lake received multiple tips and was on the scene at Hotspot, 37415 State Road 19, Umatilla, briefly and witnessed several marked units from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at the business around 9:30 a.m. A tipster also said there was a law enforcement presence at another Hotspot, located at 11203 U.S. Highway 441, Tavares, near County Road 473.

“We’re working an investigation regarding those gaming establishments, the details of which will be released at a later date,” LCSO Lt. John Herrell told Inside Lake.

Law enforcement investigating internet gaming facilities in unincorporated Umatilla and Tavares Read More »

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