A quiet afternoon by the pool turned into a frightening home intrusion for a Lake County couple after they discovered a stranger inside their house, allegedly brewing coffee, opening cabinets, and moving items around while they were outside.
In a FOX 35 Orlando report, Alexus Cleavenger said the encounter happened at a home in Leesburg, where Donna White and her husband had been spending time in their backyard pool and did not realize anyone had entered the house. By the time White’s husband went back inside, she said, a woman they did not know was already in the kitchen.
The case has since led to the arrest of 36-year-old Josie Garcia Lugo, who authorities identified as the woman accused of entering the home. According to Cleavenger’s report, deputies said Garcia Lugo was arrested for burglary after investigators connected her to a purse left behind at the scene.
A Quiet Afternoon Turns Into A Home Intrusion
Cleavenger opened the report by asking viewers to imagine walking into their kitchen and finding a stranger making coffee while every cabinet was open. That, she said, is exactly what Donna White and her husband reported finding after they had been outside swimming.
White told FOX 35 that the couple had no idea anyone had entered the house because their phones were not with them in the pool, so they did not hear their Ring camera alert.
“We had no idea that she was in the house,” White said in the report.
The Ring camera footage, according to Cleavenger, captured the moment a woman allegedly walked into the home. What makes the case especially unsettling is not just that someone entered the house, but that the person appeared to settle in rather than quickly leave.
White said her husband eventually went inside and found the woman in the kitchen. He could smell coffee and could see that she had made some. He also noticed items piled up around the home, including keys to his truck.
That detail makes the situation feel more alarming than a simple mistaken-address incident. A stranger standing in a kitchen is frightening enough, but a stranger moving through rooms, handling personal belongings, and touching vehicle keys crosses into a much more disturbing kind of invasion.
“This Is My House,” Homeowner Says Woman Told Them
According to White, the woman had gone from room to room before the couple confronted her. She said her daughter’s room had been ransacked, with clothes dumped from drawers.
When White’s husband confronted the woman, White said the stranger responded by claiming the house belonged to her.
“She told him, ‘This is my house,’” White said in Cleavenger’s report.
White said she kept screaming for the woman to leave and told her husband to call 911. She also said the encounter was terrifying because they did not know whether the woman was armed or what she might do next.
“He didn’t know if she was armed or, you know, what was going on,” White told FOX 35.
That uncertainty is what makes occupied home intrusions so dangerous. The people inside the home have only seconds to decide whether they are dealing with confusion, intoxication, mental distress, theft, or a threat that could become violent. There is no easy way to calmly sort that out while someone is standing in your kitchen and insisting your home is theirs.
Deputies Say A Purse Helped Identify The Suspect
Investigators later identified the woman as Josie Garcia Lugo. In the FOX 35 report, the sheriff’s office said the suspect left a purse behind that was positively identified as hers.
“She had left a purse behind that was positively identified as hers, so we arrested her for burglary,” sheriff’s office representative James Vachon said in Cleavenger’s report.
The arrest report cited in the segment said Garcia Lugo told deputies she had been walking from Lisbon to Lake Eustis and denied entering any residences. But according to the report, she admitted the purse left in the home belonged to her.
The written details provided with the case also said the purse was a blue Disney purse featuring Elsa from “Frozen,” which White said was left on a counter by the front door.
That is the kind of small object that can become a major piece of evidence. In a case where the suspect allegedly left before deputies arrived, the purse appears to have given investigators a direct link between the person they found nearby and the home the couple said she entered.
Groceries Were Thrown Away After The Encounter
The intrusion did not end with the fear of finding a stranger inside. According to the report, the homeowners also said Garcia Lugo touched several household items, which they later threw away because of contamination concerns.
Those items reportedly included ice cream, pancake mix, cat treats, a stick of butter, and other goods. The total value was listed as $129.
That amount may not sound large compared with the seriousness of a burglary charge, but it shows how even a brief intrusion can leave homeowners dealing with practical losses after the immediate fear is over. Once someone has been inside a kitchen, opening cabinets and touching food, many families would likely feel the same way and choose to throw items away rather than take a chance.
Garcia Lugo is facing charges of unarmed burglary of an occupied dwelling and petit theft of more than $100 but less than $300, according to the case details reported by FOX 35.
The “occupied dwelling” part is important because White and her husband were home at the time, even if they were outside. That changes the emotional weight of the incident. This was not a house discovered disturbed after a vacation or workday. The homeowners were just steps away, in their own backyard, while someone was allegedly moving through their private space.
A Reminder To Lock Doors, Even While Home
Cleavenger reported that the sheriff’s office is using the case to remind homeowners to keep doors locked at all times, even when they are home.
“Always lock those doors,” Vachon said in the report. “Just make it a habit any time, day or night, when you come in, just lock the door.”
The warning also applied to car doors, back doors, and any other access points, especially when residents are outside and no one is physically inside the house.
It is easy to understand why people leave a back door unlocked while they are in the backyard. Many people see that as still being “home,” and technically they are. But this case shows the gap between feeling safe because you are on the property and actually securing the home itself.
In neighborhoods where people are used to quiet afternoons and familiar routines, basic precautions can feel unnecessary until something happens. A locked door is not a guarantee against crime, but it is one of the simplest ways to add a barrier between a passing stranger and the inside of a home.
A Small Habit After A Frightening Afternoon
Garcia Lugo remained in the Lake County Jail after the arrest, with bond set at $3,500, according to Cleavenger’s report.
For White and her husband, the legal case may now be in the hands of deputies and prosecutors, but the emotional impact is harder to measure. The image of a stranger inside the kitchen, making coffee and handling personal belongings, is the sort of violation that can make a familiar home feel different afterward.
What stands out most is how ordinary the afternoon had been before everything changed. The couple was not away on a trip. They had not left the house empty for hours. They were simply outside, enjoying the pool, with their phones out of reach and the back door unlocked.
That is what makes the sheriff’s reminder feel practical rather than alarmist. Locking a door while home may seem excessive to some people, but after a case like this, it looks less like paranoia and more like a small habit that can prevent a deeply unsettling situation.
As Cleavenger reported, the couple’s experience now serves as a warning for other homeowners: being home does not always mean a home is secure, and an unlocked door can turn an ordinary afternoon into a frightening encounter in a matter of minutes.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
