Woman jailed after allegedly punching female student during dismissal at Leesburg High School

A Leesburg woman was arrested Wednesday for her involvement with allegedly battering a Leesburg High School student earlier this year.

Lakeisha Nicole Williams, 34, was taken in on a Lake County warrant for battering a female student alongside other juveniles during dismissal at the bus loop. 

On afternoon of Feb. 12, an officer with the Leesburg Police Department assigned as a school resource officer for Leesburg High School, located at 1401 Yellow Jacket Way, was called to the bus loop to assist with an altercation on campus, according to an affidavit of probable cause out of Lake County. 

Upon arriving in the area, the officer observed a large group of individuals actively engaging in physical altercations during school dismissal. She, another resource officer and multiple members of school staff began separating those involved. They requested additional assistance, and several more LPD officers responded to help by breaking up the crowd and getting control of the incident, the affidavit said. 

Once the crowd dispersed, the two resource officers met with the victim, a 16-year-old female student, and school administration in the principal’s office. She had multiple scratches that were red, swollen and bleeding slightly on both sides of her face and her forehead. She declined treatment from Lake EMS but did accept treatment from the school nurse, the affidavit said. 

The victim advised that she was walking to her car, which was parked near the bus loop, when she was approached by multiple people who physically attacked and injured her. However, she was unsure who did it, the affidavit said. 

The officer conducted further investigation by obtaining and reviewing multiple videos of the incident. She determined that the victim was indeed attacked by multiple people. One adult, later identified as Williams, struck the victim’s face with a closed fist multiple times, the affidavit said. 

As Williams struck the victim, a juvenile female student grabbed the victim by the hair and pulled her backward, creating a gap. A second juvenile female student entered the gap and lunged at the victim. Both juveniles then struck the victim multiple times with closed fists as school administrators arrived and tried to separate them, the affidavit said. 

At that point, a third female student rushed toward the victim and struck her multiple times with a closed fist. School administrators were then able to separate the involved parties and escort the victim away from the incident and into the principal’s office, the affidavit said. 

The third student was ultimately suspended from Leesburg High School pending alternate placement. A school administrator present during the incident could identify Williams, and this was confirmed using a Florida driver’s license photo. An affidavit for her arrest was drafted for the offense of simple battery, but she was not found following its completion, the affidavit said. 

On Feb. 15, a detective with LPD was assigned to further investigate the case. He reviewed the incident report, a supplemental report, the victim’s statement and the probable cause affidavit, the affidavit said. 

The victim’s statement was consistent with what was reported by the school resource officer but added that there was a previous incident where the victim was battered by another individual. This prompted a confrontation between the victim’s father and the father of the unknown individual in the school parking lot near the bus loop while they were both present for student pickup at dismissal, the affidavit said. 

This altercation then quickly evolved into the large altercation, during which the victim was battered by several female subjects. The victim reportedly sustained two knots on her forehead and a braid ripped out of the side of her head, the affidavit said. 

The detective tried to contact the school resource officers for clarification regarding what videos were reviewed for the incident but was only able to get a hold of one. He stated that the videos were a combination of school security camera footage and cell phone videos taken by individuals present during the incident who then posted the videos on social media. Much of the footage from surveillance did not completely show the altercation because they were obscured by buses in the bus lane, the affidavit said. 

Williams was ultimately arrested Wednesday by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. She was charged with simple battery and transported to Lake County Jail. She was released after posting $1,000 bond.