Battered, Beaten and Bruised

May 18, 2020

Levy County Deputies responded to a call for help on May 15, 2020. Deputy B. Wells met with a victim of domestic violence at an undisclosed location. The victim told our deputy a story of horrible abuse that had been ongoing for several weeks. Deputy Wells enlisted the assistance of the LCSO Victim Advocates Division, who was able to take the victim to a safe location while Deputy Wells located and arrested the offender.

Deputy Wells took Brian T. Keator (11/3/85) of Williston into custody at his home. Keator has been charged with four different domestic violence related crimes, and a firearms violation. Keator is a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm. He is being held in the Levy County Detention Facility in lieu of a $420,000.00 bond.

William Lancaster Arrested

May 18, 2020

As some may recall from a recent press release, the Levy County Sheriff’s Office and Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office were looking for William Lancaster. William ran from Levy County Deputies last week and was able to evade capture. The following day a truck and goose neck trailer was reported stolen near where William was last seen. The trailer was found abandoned but the truck was still missing. 

On Sunday, May 17, 2020 Deputies were surveilling residences in the Fanning Springs area. Deputies spoke to a homeowner who not only confirmed William was inside asleep, but also gave our deputies permission to go inside and get him. 

William Lancaster was passed out on the couch. Once awakened by Corporal Jeremy Dean and Deputy Al Horne, William made series of horrible decisions. Instead of surrendering peacefully, he decided to run. His efforts were quickly interrupted by Corporal Dean who tackled him to the ground. William began to struggle to escape from Corporal Dean’s grasp. Corporal Dean had most of this situation under control and Deputy Horne came to assist. 

This is when William meets Deputy Horne. True to form, William makes yet another bad decision and grabs Deputy Horne by his bullet proof vest and tries to throw him, to no avail. 

William was searched after he was handcuffed. Inside of his pockets deputies found pills and needles. William confessed he had taken some of his pills along with some meth just prior to deputies getting there. The drugs he ingested apparently caused William to pass out. Deputies quickly sprang into action and gave William a dose of Narcan which they carry on their duty belt, to bring him back around. EMS was contacted and recommended he be taken to the hospital for follow-up treatment.

William’s stay at the hospital was short. William is currently being held at the Levy County Detention Facility. He has been charged with drug offenses and battery on deputies as well as his previous crime of domestic battery. His bond has not yet been assigned. 

As a side note, the truck reported stolen was located in the Suwannee River in Gilchrist County on Saturday. The Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office responded and with some assistance was able to remove the truck from its watery surroundings. It is suspected William drove the truck into the river to conceal it and attempt to destroy evidence. Levy County Detectives are asking anyone that saw William in possession of this truck to please contact Detective Justin Douglas at 352-486-5111.

Drug Task Force Arrests 3

May 15, 2020

The Levy County Drug Task Force had been monitoring the activities of a select group in the Bronson area recently and conducted a traffic stop on one of their primary suspects on Wednesday afternoon. DTF Detectives arrested Harris Garcia (12/7/92), the driver of the vehicle, for knowingly driving while his license was suspended or revoked. Garcia’s license had in-fact been cancelled by the DHSMV in 2015 for failure to pay traffic fines. Garcia’s passengers, Dakota Burks (8/23/93) and James Hollriegel (6/18/90) were also arrested for possession of methamphetamines. 

All three subjects were booked in at the Levy County Detention Facility. Hollriegel had an active warrant for his arrest in addition to his drug charges. His bond was assigned at $95,000. Garcia was assigned a $2,500 bond. Burks bond was assigned at $20,000.

Troy the Unhappy Boy

Note is Troy's/Edits are ours

May 14, 2020

The Levy County Sheriff’s Office arrested Troy Draughn (8/4/66) on May 8, 2019 for driving while under the influence. Troy bonded from custody on May 10, 2019 and returned to his home in Inglis. For those who know Troy, you might describe him as just a bit off center. He doesn’t care for law enforcement or our courts; and decided he did not wish to participate in his scheduled court appearances for the DUI charge. As a result of his decision, a warrant for failure to appear was issued. 

Troy developed a habit of calling 911 each time deputies went to his house to execute his arrest warrant and bring him to jail. The LCSO Communications Center, receptionists, deputies and detectives spoke to Troy multiple times on the phone urging him to surrender. Troy was never nice during these calls and would never surrender peacefully, instead deciding to hide within the sanctuary of his home.  

Today Troy made an error. He needed supplies and decided to drive to the store. Yes we were waiting on him and yes he was arrested. But not before Troy made a few more bad decisions. Troy has no driver’s license; it was suspended when he was arrested for DUI. Troy also failed to register his tag. And, when deputies turned on their emergency lights, he decided to make a run for it. He almost made it, almost.

Troy amassed plenty of charges while on the lamb this past year to include seven (7) counts of misuse of 911 and he also has pending charges in Citrus County. Today Troy was charged with fleeing law enforcement, DWLSR and resisting arrest. No bonds have been assigned as of this writing.

I Forgot

May 14, 2020

On Tuesday May 13, 2020 Deputy Ryan Sullivan spotted a speeding Chevrolet truck on US Alt 27. Deputy Sullivan fell in behind the vehicle and before turning on his lights to stop it, ran the tag. A return of his inquiry revealed the truck was reported stolen to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office on May, 6, 2020 (Oh boy, things are going to get interesting). Deputy Sullivan contacted his shift partners who joined him and they performed a felony stop at the Chevron gas station near the Bronson Raceway.

The driver, later identified as Tony Whittle (8/18/59) of Gainesville was ordered to exit the vehicle and was taken into custody. His passenger, Indigo McMahon (2/19/91) of Chiefland, was also taken into custody.

If you’re caught driving a stolen truck we want you to know our deputies will professionally interrupt your day and offer you a lengthy stay at our luxurious bed and breakfast. However, this investigation made a weird twist. It seems Mr. Whittle was the owner of the truck he was driving. On May 6 he loaned his truck to a trusted friend, who apparently could not be trusted with the truck. The friend did not return as promised, prompting Mr. Whittle to make his report to ASO. It seems Mr. Whittle lacked follow through and when he ultimately got his truck back he forgot to tell ASO. Hence the “Stolen Vehicle” return Deputy Sullivan received when he ran the tag. Most of you would think this is where the story should end. Nope.

Mr. Whittle has a history of driving while his license is suspended. He apparently likes to smoke crack while out on his afternoon drives too. Evidence of both of these crimes were discovered by our diligent and suspicious deputies. Mr. Whittle earned a stay with the LCSO Detention Bureau. 

Ms. McMahon apparently likes to accompany Mr. Whittle on his afternoon crack smoking drives and offered to bring his favorite mix along. She likes a different type of ride and often intravenously consumes hydrocodone. Not wanting her drugs confiscated she attempted to conceal them on her person after she was taken into our jail (not her best decision). She acquired a new charge to add to her possession of narcotics; introduction of contraband into a detention facility. This is a level 2 felony and could earn her a much longer stay in one of our state prisons. 

Mr. Whittle is being held in lieu of a $40,000 bond. Ms. McMahon racked up a total of $80,000 in bonds in her efforts.