LAKE CITY, FL — An expansive undercover sting operation by the Lake City Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force has resulted in the arrest of six men, including a Texas resident, after they allegedly traveled to meet individuals they believed were underage girls.
The Undercover Operation
Detectives embedded within the ICAC Task Force posed as teenage girls online, engaging in explicit conversations with targets who believed they were soliciting minors. As the digital investigations progressed, detectives coordinated sting operations to lure the suspects to designated locations for face-to-face meetings, where takedown units were waiting.
The initial phase of the operation led to the arrest of four individuals on charges involving the use of electronic communication devices to facilitate unlawful sexual conduct with minors, solicitation, and transmission of harmful material:
- James Michael Diehl, 62, of Fort White, FL
- Alan Wayne Price, 39, of Lake City, FL
- Albert David Moore, 67, of Live Oak, FL
- Thomas J. Fortune, 40, of Jacksonville, FL
Additional Thursday Arrests
The operation continued into Thursday, May 14, 2026, yielding two more arrests under similar circumstances.
Timothy Paul Jones, 44, of Keystone Heights, Florida, was taken into custody without incident after arranging an online sexual encounter and driving to Lake City to meet the decoy. He was transported to the Columbia County Detention Center…