Lake Placid Man Booked In Homicide

LAKE PLACID - Highlands County Sheriff's Office and Lake Placid Police Department were investigating a Saturday morning shooting which occurred at 242 Phoenix Ave. after an altercation at the Hideaway Lounge on U.S. 27.

A call came to 911 at 12:23 a.m. When Lake Placid police officers arrived three minutes later, they found two gunshot victims.

Walter Enrique Vilchez of Lake Placid was dead by the time an ambulance arrived.

The second victim, Jose Franklin Escalante, 321 Phoenix Ave., was transported by air to a trauma center. Lead investigator Lt. Timothy Lethbridge would not say where, but his condition was listed as guarded. At 1 p.m. Saturday, Escalante had not been interviewed.

Lake Placid police were also investigating, said Chief Phil Williams.

After deputies spoke to witnesses, they put out a description of the suspect's vehicle, which was spotted by a patrol deputy.

By 9:45 a.m. Saturday, Andrew John Kalinowski, 21, of 917 Lake June Road, was arrested and booked on suspicion of first-degree murder and attempted murder.

Kalinowski also was arrested in February 2007 and charged with drug use and possession of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine, and intent to sell drugs.

Lethbridge could not say why the shooting occurred, or whether it was related to Kalinowski's drug record. "That's part of what we're investigating. But the circumstances which led up to the shooting are of great interest to us," he said.

The sheriff's Web site does not indicate whether Kalinowski was convicted, but he was free six hours after the 2007 arrest on a $22,000 bond.

Detectives are asking anyone with information to call the Sheriff's Criminal Investigations Unit at 402-7200. Anonymous callers can dial Crime Stoppers at 800-226-TIPS.