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
On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at approximately 11:06 p.m., Lake City Police Department officers responded to a report of a shooting on SW Leslie Glen. Upon arrival, officers discovered a 31-year-old male unresponsive from a gunshot wound. Officers administered first aid until EMS arrived, but the individual succumbed to hisContinue Reading
A 65-year-old man was arrested Monday after allegedly brandishing a firearm during a road rage incident in Lake City. At approximately 11:52 a.m. on March 3, officers from the Lake City Police Department responded to South Main Boulevard and Brown Street after a complainant reported that the driver of aContinue Reading
On February 12, 2025, at approximately 8:00 PM, a Lake County deputy conducting proactive patrol on State Road 46 in Sorrento initiated a traffic stop after observing a driver commit a traffic infraction. As the vehicle pulled over, the deputy noticed the passenger discard an item from the window. UponContinue Reading
A 51-year-old man was shot and robbed in Leesburg on Sunday night, and police are now searching for the suspect. Officers responded to the 100 block of Truitt Street at approximately 8 p.m. on February 16, 2025, and found the victim with a gunshot wound to the upper body. TheContinue Reading