After a confrontation in Lake County that resulted in the closure of U.S. Highway 27, a man was discovered dead inside a stolen recreational vehicle, according to sheriff’s officials. On Wednesday morning, at Lake Louisa State Park, U.S. Highway 27, there was a confrontation with deputies.
Lt. Fred Jones, a spokesman for the Lake County sheriff’s office, said the incident started just after two in the morning in Leesburg when deputies began a pursuit of the R.V., which had been stolen in Flagler County about two weeks earlier, as the driver drove erratically and occasionally in the wrong lane of traffic.
According to Jones, officers stopped the R.V. on U.S. 27 using Stop Sticks. The subject(s) inside then closed the blinds, according to an email from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The individual was later identified as Richard Louis William, 37, but attempts to get in touch with him failed, according to Jones. According to Jones, “the SWAT squad did breach the truck when they discovered the person dead.”
Deputies are negotiating with a barricaded subject in a recreational vehicle on US Hwy 27 at Lake Louisa State Park. Currently, Hwy 27 is shut down in both directions. Please use SR 33 or toll road 429 as alternates. We will update as soon as the situation is safely resolved.
— LakeCountySO (@LakeCountySO) September 14, 2022
According to Jones, the SWAT squad entered the R.V. after receiving an anonymous call reporting a man overdosing while surrounded by local officials. The individual was later discovered to be dead. Jones said that William had no apparent injuries, and no weapons were found in the car or at the site. His cause of death is being looked into.
We were finding out why it might take some time. We’re hoping to get in touch with the individual he phoned so we can learn more from them, Jones added. Nobody else was in the R.V., and the R.V.’s thief is still at large. “We have no idea if he stole it. Has he acquired it from anyone? We’re looking for those answers,” Jones added. The two-way closure of U.S. Highway 27 was lifted when the standoff was resolved.
