[PHOTO CREDITS: iStock / Andrii Medvediuk]
[Original Publish Date: 01/13/20]
(Have news tips for LLN?… 352Tips@gmail.com.)
LEESBURG, Florida — A series of bad decisions landed a Leesburg man in jail Sunday afternoon.
Leesburg Police observed a gold Chevy run a stop sign at Susan Street and William Street around 3:20 p.m. Sunday and an officer got behind the sedan and ran the tag. The tag came back to a completely different vehicle — a white GMC SUV with an expiration date of June 2019, yet the decal was valid until February 2020, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police stopped the vehicle and the driver, Cordaro Andrew Hill, 33, told the officer he bought the car off of Facebook more than a month ago and the seller left the tag on the car. The officer then ran the tag number on the decal and found it belonged to Sherwin Williams. When the officer questioned Hill he told the officer he worked next door to Sherwin Williams, but “wasn’t sure how the stolen decal got on the vehicle,” the affidavit states.
A second officer and his K-9 conducted a free air sniff of the Chevy and the K-9 alerted to the odor of narcotics. Upon searching the car, police found a small amount of crack cocaine and Hill was placed under arrest. On the way to Leesburg Police Department Hill told police he left his 3-year-old son at home alone; Williams told officers he was only leaving for a few minutes and thought it was OK to leave the child because he was sleeping, the affidavit states.
Police responded to Hill’s home and found the toddler alone with three bags of marijuana totaling 37.6 grams and a marijuana grinder within reach. Police also found a firearm with a fully-loaded magazine in a holster on the fireplace mantel.
The boy was turned over to his grandmother and Hill was charged with dealing in stolen property, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana more than 20 grams, two counts of attaching tag not assigned and child neglect. He is being held at the Lake County Jail on $11,000 bond.
_______________________________________
Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
