LAKE CITY, FL — An expansive undercover sting operation by the Lake City Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force has resulted in the arrest of six men, including a Texas resident, after they allegedly traveled to meet individuals they believed were underage girls.
The multi-day crackdown utilized decoy advertisements on classified websites frequently exploited for scheduling sexual encounters.
The Undercover Operation
Detectives embedded within the ICAC Task Force posed as teenage girls online, engaging in explicit conversations with targets who believed they were soliciting minors. As the digital investigations progressed, detectives coordinated sting operations to lure the suspects to designated locations for face-to-face meetings, where takedown units were waiting.
The initial phase of the operation led to the arrest of four individuals on charges involving the use of electronic communication devices to facilitate unlawful sexual conduct with minors, solicitation, and transmission of harmful material:
- James Michael Diehl, 62, of Fort White, FL
- Alan Wayne Price, 39, of Lake City, FL
- Albert David Moore, 67, of Live Oak, FL
- Thomas J. Fortune, 40, of Jacksonville, FL
Additional Thursday Arrests
The operation continued into Thursday, May 14, 2026, yielding two more arrests under similar circumstances.
Timothy Paul Jones, 44, of Keystone Heights, Florida, was taken into custody without incident after arranging an online sexual encounter and driving to Lake City to meet the decoy. He was transported to the Columbia County Detention Center.
Detectives also arrested Siddharth Sunil Kumar Patel, 41, of Frisco, Texas. Investigators state Patel engaged in sexually explicit dialogue from out of state, believing he was speaking to a teenage girl, and subsequently traveled to the designated meeting area. He was apprehended upon arrival and booked into the Columbia County Detention Center.
Law Enforcement Response
The operation required substantial cross-jurisdictions teamwork. Lake City Police Chief Gerald Butler commended the collaborative effort required to pull off the multi-agency sting:
“Operations like this are critical to protecting children from online predators who use the internet to target minors. I want to thank our ICAC detectives, the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for their continued efforts to identify and arrest individuals seeking to exploit children in our community.”
The Lake City Police Department noted that the investigation remains active and ongoing, with forensic teams currently reviewing seized electronic devices. Additional charges and arrests remain possible.
Anyone with additional information is urged to contact the LCPD at (386) 752-4343, or submit anonymous tips via Crime Stoppers of Columbia County at (386) 754-7099.