Tavares, FL — On October 22, 2007, a 65-year-old woman was assaulted in her home in Tavares. Despite collecting the suspect’s DNA at the scene and entering it into CODIS, no matches were identified for years. In 2018, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Parabon NanoLabs to generate aContinue Reading
Detectives with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit, in coordination with Leesburg, Clermont, Eustis, Mt. Dora, and Groveland Police Departments, concluded a six-month investigation into a drug trafficking network operating out of the Leesburg area. The investigation, which began after a citizen complaint, identified 22-year-old Jartavious Dwyane ColemanContinue Reading
An 18-year-old Mount Dora man has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Leesburg man on Thursday evening, June 27, 2025. Leesburg Police Officers responded to the 1000 block of Tuskegee Street at approximately 7:00 PM after receiving reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers andContinue Reading
On June 5, 2025, around 6:00 a.m., the Lake County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a robbery involving a possible law enforcement impersonator on County Road 48 in Yalaha. The victim told deputies that while driving to work around 5:00 a.m., he noticed a white sedan parked on theContinue Reading
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has announced the arrest of Elmer Sanchez Bautista, 22, of Leesburg, on five counts of possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This arrest is part of FDLE’s statewide initiative to identify and apprehend individuals involved in targeting children and sharing CSAM files.Continue Reading
A Lake City Police Department officer was shot and injured while providing crowd control at a community Easter Celebration on Sunday, April 20, 2025. The incident occurred at the Annie Mattox Recreation Center on NE Center Avenue, an annual event attended by several thousand people. At approximately 8:06 P.M., anContinue Reading
A 43-year-old man was arrested on Sunday, April 20, 2025, after interfering with news media covering an officer-involved shooting near the Annie Mattox Recreation Center. While Lake City Police Department officers were actively managing the crime scene, several news crews were lawfully filming from outside the established perimeter. As aContinue Reading
On March 20, 2025, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Bureau, with assistance from the SWAT teams of Clermont, Eustis, Leesburg, and Mount Dora Police Departments, executed a search warrant at a residence on Cooter Pond Road in Deland. The search was part of an ongoing narcotics investigation. UponContinue Reading
A joint law enforcement operation led to the arrest of a 28-year-old Lake City woman on drug charges after authorities uncovered a plan to smuggle narcotics into Suwannee Correctional Institution. Jakaleb Thomas, a correctional officer trainee, was taken into custody after task force detectives received intelligence from the Alachua CountyContinue Reading
After more than three decades, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has identified a previously unidentified homicide victim found in 1988 as Pamela Leigh Walton. On September 25, 1988, deputies discovered the remains of a deceased individual approximately 30 feet off the side of CR 474 in a rural, heavily woodedContinue Reading