A Clermont woman armed with a wrench was apprehended for burglary after being detained in Leesburg’s Hawthorne neighborhood.
Around 2:25 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19, dispatchers received a call about a strange car parked behind a residence in Leesburg’s Hawthorne complex, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The caller stated that the vehicle had been parked in the area for around 20 minutes and that a person, later identified as 35-year-old Meleisa Lei Dority, could be heard unlocking the doors and making further noise at it.
Deputies came to the scene and began searching for the vehicle. The caller stated that she spotted someone entering the subdivision through a guarded area on Banana Point Drive while holding a flashlight. The report stated that they used this information to identify an unoccupied white Chevrolet Blazer on the shoulder of Banana Point Drive.
An investigation of the car indicated that the hood was warm to the touch, indicating recent use. The deputies suspected a burglary was taking place and set up a perimeter to track down the perpetrator. They examined the fence near the truck, and when they touched the gate, the latch and associated lock dropped to the ground. The report said that the lock had been unfastened at the bolt.
Beyond the gate was a white square-paneled fence with a secondary gate that was locked. The perimeter fence encircling the gated private neighborhood was made of chain-link fencing topped with barbed wire. Deputies proceeded to search the area and used a drone to get an aerial picture of the neighborhood, according to the report.
They then noticed Dority standing behind a tree in the community. The drone approached, but she hid behind a tree and moved around it in sync with the drone’s motions. According to the report, she ran away at a full sprint.
Nearby deputies discovered her and attempted to apprehend her, but she fled. She eventually slowed to a walk and defied their repeated requests to stop until they apprehended her. A check of her person turned up various coins, a ratcheting wrench with socket attachments, gloves, lottery tickets, and other odd objects, according to the report.
Dority later stated that she went inside the area “looking for coins.” She admitted to going over the exterior fence and stated that the white Chevrolet was hers. When asked about hiding from the drone, she said she was only leaning against it. She also stated that she fled because she had no idea who the officers were and was terrified, according to reports.
Dority was arrested on accusations of loitering or prowling, resisting an officer (without violence), and possessing burglary tools. She was booked into the Lake County Jail and released after posting a $4,000 bond.
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