Crime · Clermont, FL
Michael Anthony Jones, a 66-year-old teaching assistant at East Ridge High School in Clermont, FL, was arrested on charges of child abuse without great bodily harm and battery after allegedly striking a student with the student's shoe multiple times and dragging him across a gymnasium floor. Lake County Sheriff's Office deputies reviewed security camera footage showing Jones removing the student's shoe and hitting him four times—twice on his bottom, once on his head, and once on his right arm—before dragging him along the floor; a cell phone video captured additional contact. Jones told deputies the student had used the word "gay" and later spit on him, prompting him to take the shoe and strike the student, though he denied punching the boy. Jones was booked at Lake County Jail and released after posting $11,000 bond.
Community News · Mount Dora, FL
The 20th annual Stuff the Bus Food Drive will be held Saturday, Oct. 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Publix at Loch Leven Landing (18955 US Highway 441) in Mount Dora, where Lake County Office of Transit Services will collect nonperishable food for the Lake Cares Food Pantry. Over two decades, the drive has collected more than 74,000 pounds of food. Lake Cares served 74,998 individuals representing 20,792 families in 2025 and distributes about 25,000 pounds weekly across county-wide sites. The organization reports that limited storage space prevents it from accepting more than 1 million pounds of available donated food annually. Requested items include canned goods, pasta, peanut butter, cereal, rice cakes, juice boxes, baby food, and dry or canned pet food.
Crime · Fruitland Park, FL
A 78-year-old Fruitland Park man, Arthur William Goerner, was arrested after allegedly pointing a gun at a delivery driver and attacking him at Eagles Nest Mobile Home Park (5519 Eagles Nest Rd.) at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The driver reported that Goerner pointed a Glock-style firearm at him, grabbed his arm, scratched him, and struck him on the side of the head before deputies arrived. Goerner denied carrying a gun, saying it may have been his phone, and claimed the driver nearly ran him over; no firearms were found by law enforcement. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and simple battery, booked at Lake County Jail, and released on $6,000 bond.
