Police have arrested a suspect who they say had “no apparent motive” for killing a 62-year-old man, crashing a vehicle into a second victim, and pistol-whipping a third victim during a violent spree in Orange County earlier this week.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, 30-year-old Vashawn Damar McClendon was arrested on Tuesday and initially charged with aggravated battery with a motor vehicle. Deputies later determined that the same vehicle was involved in a string of crimes, including the murder of Oleg Denysenko.
Denysenko, who was 62 years old, was found unresponsive on Monday, May 23 around 6:03 p.m. in the 300 block of Duncan Court.
Orange County Fire Rescue pronounced him deceased on the scene.
Witnesses in the area say they heard gunshots and saw a black SUV speed away.
Surveillance video from the area shows an individual pull up to a driveway on Duncan Court with his windows down in a black Jeep Grand Cherokee. In the video, it appears that the driver summons Denysenko and then shoots him for no apparent reason.
Approximately 20 minutes after the shooting, a black Jeep Grand Cherokee being driven by a black male intentionally struck a man before it crashed on North Buena Vista Boulevard.
The driver, who authorities later identified as McClendon, was seen fleeing the Jeep on foot while holding a handgun. According to authorities, the abandoned vehicle was registered to a relative of McClendon.
Ten minutes after the car accident, a third victim reported being pistol whipped on South Observatory Drive by an individual who police have also identified as McClendon.
That victim was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
At 8:00 p.m. that evening, less than two hours from when authorities found Denysenko’s body, police received a call from a relative of McClendon on Hudson Street saying McClendon had come to the residence with blood on him and was acting odd.
Deputies surrounded the house and extracted family members before securing McClendon without incident, according to a report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
“This horrible violent spree by McClendon, which resulted in the tragic murder of Mr. Denysenko and serious injury to two others, has no apparent motive. None of the victims appear to have known McClendon, and there is no explanation detectives have been able to ascertain for these brutal crimes,” reads a statement from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
McClendon has been charged with second degree murder and attempted second degree murder, as well as a violation of probation out of Lake County.