Man Swims River to Evade Capture

February 27, 2017

Ronald A. Working (12-19-88) of Old Town temporarily evaded capture by swimming the Suwannee River this past Friday afternoon. Working was wanted by Dixie County for two counts of oystering in a closed area. Working was able to evade Dixie County Sheriff’s deputies by jumping into the Suwannee River and swimming across into the wooded area of Andrews Management Area in Levy County. LCSO deputies responded to assist and captured Working near the intersection of US 19 and NW 155 Avenue.

Working was booked into the Levy County Detention Facility and is being held on a $3,000 bond for the warrants issued in Dixie County. Working was additionally charged with resisting arrest without violence in Levy County. The bond on this charge was set at $25,000.

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Injured Horse Investigation Update

REWARD INCREASED

 

BELOW IS AN EXCERPT OF THE PRESS RELEASE FROM THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES:

 

The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting a horse named Emma.

“It takes a truly callous person to shoot a gentle horse with a gun,” said Kate MacFall, The HSUS’ Florida state director. “We are hopeful that this reward will bring forward anyone with information about this heinous crime."

The National Sheriffs’ Association and The HSUS launched ICE BlackBox, a free smartphone tool, to allow users to record video of illegal animal cruelty and share it securely with law enforcement for possible investigation and prosecution.

The HSUS doubled its standard cruelty reward from $2,500 to $5,000 thanks to a generous donation from an HSUS board member. To see information on statistics, trends, laws and animal cruelty categories.

 

The reward now exceeds $6,200.00. Please call the Levy County Sheriff's Office (352-486-5111) if you have any information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of the person or persons involved in this incident. 

Career Felon Arrested

February 15, 2017

An alert, diligent and crafty Levy County citizen breaks unsolved burglary cases for the LCSO. Our citizen and your neighbor saw something, photographed it and reported it which solved a string of burglaries in the Williston area.

Career criminal Paul Lesley Urquhart (12-6-69) of Williston was arrested yesterday by the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division Investigators based upon the information supplied by our citizen. Urquhart has amassed 21 felony arrests and is currently on Federal Probation for weapons charges. But Urquhart could not help himself and reverted back to his old habits of breaking into homes stealing jewelry and other valuables. He would trade your hard earned valuables for drugs. However, this time he was stopped cold in his tracks.

Investigators recovered approximately $2,500 of property Urquhart had stolen from multiple homes in the Williston area. Urquhart has been arrested and charged with one count of burglary and grand theft. His bond has been set at $145,000.

The investigation continues and additional charges are expected to filed in the near future. Investigators are combing through the recovered evidence and matching it to previously reported crimes.  Anyone who has information on Urquhart is asked to contact Sergeant Mike Narayan at 352-486-5111.

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Fleeing Suspect Crashes

February 15, 2017

At approximately 3:30 a.m. this morning Deputy John Finkell attempted to stop a red pickup in Bronson because it did not have tail lights. Deputy Finkell pulled in behind the truck and activated his emergency lights signaling the driver to stop. However, the driver accelerated and made abrupt turns attempting to evade Deputy Finkell.

Deputy Finkell lost sight of the fleeing vehicle on back roads in the Town of Bronson and radioed this information to his communications center. He turned off his emergency equipment and began to search the area for the truck. At the intersection of NE 80 Street and NE 95 Avenue Deputy Finkell saw a female staggering in the road. As he approached her, he saw the red truck had crashed into a tree. The female, identified as Victoria Muro (22 years old), told Deputy Finkell she was begging the driver, identified as Fransisco Calvillo (8-6-94) of Bronson, to stop.

Deputy Finkell found Calvillo crumpled in the floor board of the truck suffering from a head injury. He went to render aid and the truck burst into flames. Deputy Finkell had to force open the passenger door of the truck to remove Calvillo and drag him to safety. Deputy Finkell applied pressure bandages to Calvillo’s injuries and attempted to extinguish the fire which now fully engulfed the truck. EMS and Fire were contacted and responded to assist.

Muro told Deputy Finkell both she and Calvillo had been drinking and Calvillo had no intentions of stopping for law enforcement. The Florida Highway Patrol was contacted and will be completing the accident and DUI investigation.

Calvillo was taken by EMS to a local hospital for treatment of injuries he sustained in the crash. Charges have been filed by Deputy Finkell for fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement. Calvillo was released from jail on 12-7-16 on a $12,000 bond and has pending charges for domestic battery and tampering with a witness. The FHP investigation is still on-going.

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Fleeing Felon Arrested

February 15, 2017

Ontez Ellison (10-23-93) of Bronson has a lengthy history with the Levy County Sheriff’s Office and has tallied 4 felony arrests to his lists of accomplishments. Ellison had been placed on supervised probation based upon his most recent felony charge, but failed to comply with his probation conditions. As a result of this a warrant for his arrest for violating his probation was issued.

On February 12, 2017 Deputy Sinclair received a radio call issuing a BOLO (be on the lookout) for car reported stolen in Alachua County. Deputy Sinclair spotted a car matching the description of the vehicle issued in the BOLO near NE 105 Avenue and turned around to conduct a traffic stop. Instead of stopping, the driver of the vehicle sped away. Deputy Sinclair was able to read the tag number of the fleeing car and confirmed it was in-fact the stolen vehicle. But, the driver still did not stop and made evasive turns and accelerated away from Deputy Sinclair. Deputy Sinclair was able to clearly see the driver on several occasions during the pursuit and positively identified Ellison as the driver.

Ellison fled from Deputy Sinclair into Alachua County. Ellison ultimately abandoned the car in the area of SW 95 Avenue in Archer and fled on foot. Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputies assisting in the pursuit deployed their K-9 units to the area. However, Ellison could not be located. His passenger, Julius Wright, was not as lucky and was arrested by ACSO.

On February 14, 2017 based upon Ellison’s reckless indifference and consistent attempts to flee and elude law enforcement, he was talked into surrendering. Investigator Barrera with the LCSO Drug Task Force was able to negotiate Ellison’s peaceful surrender when prior attempts had failed. Ellison was taken into custody in Bronson and booked into the Levy County Detention Facility. He has been charged with three counts of violation of probation, one count of fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement with disregard of safety to persons or property and driving with no valid license. He is being held without bond.

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$1,200.00  Reward

 

Reward offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of person(s) involved in the shooting of a horse.  The horse was last seen in good condition on January 5, 2017 at a farm in the area of Levy County Road 326 near C.R. 343.  The horse was treated for gunshot wounds on January 6, 2016. 

 

“Emma,” a Chestnut Mare approximately 3 years old, has a long road to recovery including multiple surgeries.  If you have any information regarding the incident involving Emma’s shooting, please call the Levy County Sheriff’s Office or Dep. B. Wells at 352-486-5111. bwells@levyso.com.

 

Williston Man Arrested for Stealing Guns

February 13, 2017

On January 18, 2017 the Levy County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in Morriston regarding a report of stolen guns. The victim reported discovering two guns were missing when he returned home, a .22 rifle and a double barrel shotgun. Deputies could not find any forced entry into the home and suspected the thief could be related to the victim.

This suspicion was verified when investigators with the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division located Patrick Allen Kelly (5-16-81). Kelly was arrested today for an outstanding warrant for violation of probation. Investigators discovered Kelly was trying to sell two guns to fellow co-workers. Based upon the description of the guns a potential buyer gave to investigators, they determined Kelly was possibly responsible for these thefts.

Kelly was previously convicted for dealing in stolen property and was on probation for this offense. He also has five previous felony convictions. Kelly made a statement to investigators and confessed to taking the guns to support a drug habit.

Kelly was booked into the Levy County Detention Facility and is charged with grand theft of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and dealing in stolen property. He is being held with NO BOND.

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