An arrest affidavit released Friday by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, shed more light on the shooting that claimed the life of a 44-year-old Lady Lake man.
Scott Bernard Thomas, 24, of Leesburg is facing a charge of third degree felony murder in the death of Mark Allen Estes who was shot dead Monday evening in the parking lot of Wal-Mart in Fruitland Park.
The affidavit indicated that Estes had been text messaging someone just prior to the shooting. At 7:05 p.m., Estes was captured on Wal-Mart video surveillance entering the restroom at the store. Three minutes later he was returning to his 2011 Cadillac in the parking lot. At 7:13 p.m. a red Toyota Camry believed to have been stolen from a Villages couple arrived and parked next to Estes’ Cadillac. One minute later, the Camry pulled away, leaving Estes on the ground, the video surveillance showed.
Thomas was reported to have been involved in a narcotics transaction.
On Wednesday, a tipster led Lake County sheriff’s detectives to the Camry, parked behind an abandoned home. The following day, Thomas was arrested at an apartment on Birchwood Court in Leesburg. He had tried to flee his apartment and then re-entered a second apartment where he tried to hide from law enforcement. A K-9 eventually nabbed Thomas, leaving him with superficial wounds that were treated by Lake EMS.
Thomas was jailed without bond at the Lake County Jail. He has a long criminal history and was already on probation.
The sheriff’s office has indicated it expects more arrests.
To read more about the red Camry linked to a Villages couple, click HERE
To read Mark Estes’ obituary, click HERE
