A Eustis man and his girlfriend have been arrested after falsely claiming a shooting happened at a park in Mount Dora.
Amarion Saucier, 21, and Josey Brianna Neat, 21, were taken into custody on Tuesday, Jan. 16, by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Mount Dora Police Department, respectively. They both face charges of giving a false report to law enforcement for an incident in November in which Saucier was shot in the buttocks and claimed it happened at Cauley Lott Park.
On the afternoon of Nov. 13, 2023, an officer with Mount Dora PD overheard a radio call for service dispatched to the Tavares Police Department regarding a shooting, according to an affidavit of probable cause out of Lake County. Amid the chaos of responding units, the officer listened closely in case the situation would involve anyone from Mount Dora or if there were any suspects or vehicles coming back into the city.
About 20 minutes later, radio traffic advised that the victim in the hospital at Advent Health Waterman, located at 1000 Waterman Way, was shot within the jurisdiction of Mount Dora. There was no further information relayed on the radio regarding the incident until about ten minutes later, the affidavit said.
Radio traffic advised that the victim, Saucier, and his girlfriend, Neat, were on Highland Street near an unspecified park when he was struck in the buttock by a bullet about an hour before. With a better description of the location and knowing that Cauley Lott Park was on Highland Street, the officer immediately accessed cameras which are permanently mounted inside the park to get more information on the shooting, the affidavit said.
There were four cameras mounted in Cauley Lott Park: one camera was offline, one camera faced southeast overlooking the intersection of Highland Street and Pine Avenue, one camera faced northeast on Highland Street north of Pine Avenue up to Fearon Avenue and the last camera faces the picnic tables under the pavilion near the basketball courts. The officer reviewed all the operational cameras leading up to the shooting until about two minutes after Tavares PD received the first calls for service, the affidavit said.
For all three 50-minute recordings, the officer saw no indication that there was a shooting within the immediate area. There was no sign of anyone running or fleeing for cover but rather people and their children playing. The officer thus concluded that there was no shooting incident at the intersection of Highland Street and Pine Avenue inside Cauley Lott Park, the report said.
A detective was later asked by Mount Dora PD to touch base with Tavares PD regarding the shooting. He learned that officers were speaking with Saucier at Advent Health, but there were no signs of him, Neat or their cream-colored Kia Sorrento anywhere on the surveillance video at the alleged time and location of the shooting. He then was told that his presence was being requested at the hospital, the affidavit said.
The detective subsequently went to the hospital and was escorted back to the room where Saucier was waiting on further medical care. Inside the ER, the detective spoke to a Tavares officer who confirmed that Saucier and Neat claimed the event happened in Mount Dora. He had already warned them that they could be arrested for giving a false statement to law enforcement, the affidavit said.
Neat was asked to leave the room while the detective spoke with Saucier. He claimed that he and his girlfriend were dropped off at Cauley Lott Park on Highland Avenue at some point that afternoon, although he could not say when. He did not know who the person was or what they were driving, the affidavit said.
This statement was later contradicted by Neat who stated they arrived at the parks in her car. She stated they made up this part due to an issue with her license. The detective informed her he was not interested in traffic violations, the affidavit said.
Saucier went on to describe Cauley Lott Park’s features when asked to verify where the park was in Mount Dora. He stated that he and Neat were walking on Highland Street on the sidewalk in front of the pavilion when he heard a single shot. He then heard a second shot and felt the pain of the bullet striking his buttocks. He described the injury based on what the doctor said as the bullet grazed his left butt cheek before entering his right butt cheek, the affidavit said.
Saucier never saw a car but heard screeching tires. He claimed he did not see the shooter nor anyone else of note in the area, and he could not explain how he got to the hospital. He stated he had no disputes with anyone and did not know why he was shot. Neat would later verify the time as about 3:09 p.m., the affidavit said.
Additionally, Saucier claimed to not know his phone number and would not let the detective look at his phone to see it. The detective asked him to text so he could have his number, but Saucier said his phone did not work like that. He eventually gave the detective the code to his phone, the affidavit said.
The detective then interviewed Neat. She claimed they arrived in the park area accompanied by a girl sometime before 3:00 p.m. in her cream Kia Sorrento. She stated they parked on Jackson Avenue near the smaller park and then walked toward the larger park she believed to be Cauley Lott Park, the affidavit said.
Neal advised that she heard more than two shots but that her head was down, so she did not see anything or anyone. She did not know anyone who may have had a disagreement with Saucier. She thought he was shot over “street stuff” but gave no further details claiming that she did not have time for that stuff because she has a kid, the affidavit said.
Neal also refused to show the detective her location history, claiming she shut it all off. She declined to let the detective download her phone to prove her locations. However, she did advise that she called someone right after the shooting, and it was time stamped 3:09 p.m., the affidavit said.
The detective told her that Mount Dora PD had reviewed the videos, and what she described did not match what was recorded at the park. She still insisted her story was true, the affidavit said.
An affidavit of probable cause was signed on Nov. 16, 2023, and the pair were ultimately arrested two months later. They were both charged with making false report know give false info to law enforcement officer alleged crime, although Saucier had burglary of occupied conveyance unarmed no assault or battery added from a separate case.
The pair were transported to the Lake County Jail. Neat was released after posting $1,000 while Saucier remains in jail on a $11,000 bond.
