A Mount Dora woman was arrested for fleeing from an officer who saw her vehicle’s illegally darkened window tint outside Family Discount Mart.
An officer on patrol spotted a black 2025 Hyundai Elantra with dark window tint leaving the parking lot of Family Discount Mart, located at 2201 Griffin Rd., around 9:10 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. He then got behind the driver, 27-year-old Tershia Renee Richmond, for a traffic stop.
Instead of pulling over, the vehicle continued traveling through the Birchwood Court area. More units responded to establish a perimeter near the bike trail and surrounding apartment complexes after a woman was reportedly seen running toward Williams Street. The suspect vehicle was later found parked in the driveway of an abandoned building near Birchwood Court, the report said.
A registration check of the vehicle’s temporary Georgia tag revealed it had expired. The report noted the vehicle should have displayed a Florida tag registered to Richmond.
Additional units, including the Fruitland Park Police Department, responded to help search the area. They proceeded to investigate the vehicle before having it towed and found a cold Coca-Cola in the center console cup holder. This indicated someone had recently been in the vehicle, so the officer returned to Family Discount Mart to review surveillance footage, the report said.
In it, the suspect vehicle backed into a parking space before Richmond went into the store to buy a Coca-Cola. This was used to positively identify her as the driver during the chase and established probable cause for her arrest, the report said.
Richmond was ultimately found the following afternoon on Birchwood Court. She was arrested on charge of flee or elude police and booked at Lake County Jail. She was released after posting $5,000 bond.
She was also one of three arrested in a multi-agency SWAT team raid of drugs and guns in May 2025.