Tom Lemons has spent about a decade reporting independently on western Florida, particularly Hernando and the surrounding counties.
He first owned and operated a website called Real News, Real Fast; more recently, he’s run rnews.news.
In his reporting, he’s provided particular scrutiny to Hernando County, Fl. Sheriff Al Niehuis.
His investigations eventually took him down a rabbit hole surrounding a local domestic violence women’s shelter called the Dawn Center. That turned into a documentary, Beyond the Gates.
(Check out my interview with Tom about the documentary.)
The blowback was immediate; he was arrested, and the Dawn Center sued. My interview with Dawn Center’s attorney Jennifer Rey about the lawsuit from 2021 is below.
Tom said something even more sinister happened.
Niehuis, Tom told us, set his sights on Tom’s adult son.
In 2015, Tom said his son, Isaac Lemons, was a DJ at a house party.
One party guest took too many drugs and died. Here’s more from a local news story.
Lemons’ case comes as a result of his 2015 arrest linked to the death of 18-year-old Dylan Joseph Thornton. Back in September of that year, Dylan went missing after his friends hosted an 18th birthday party for him.
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) was contacted in reference to Dylan being missing. Over the next couple of days, an extensive search took place in Spring Hill where Dylan was last seen. Tragically, on the morning of September 15, 2015, the significantly decomposed body of Dylan was found along some dunes south of the Duke Energy transfer station.
The Medical Examiner who performed the autopsy on Dylan ruled his cause of death as Alpha-PVP toxicity, the substance referred to as “Flakka,” a dangerous drug that is similar to the street drug commonly known as bath salts. HCSO’s missing persons case then turned into a suspicious death investigation.
Detective Dustin Adkins was assigned the case and learned that a DJ had been arranged to play at the birthday party. It was also discovered that the DJ, later identified as Lemons, was asked to bring some “Molly” to the party, which is a street drug containing amphetamines. Shortly after his arrival, Lemons sold a quantity of “Molly,” later determined to actually be “Flakka,” which was then distributed to others, including Dylan. Later that evening, both Dylan and his friend left the party under the influence and eventually parted ways after believing they were being followed while in their disoriented state.
The wheels of justice moved very slowly. Though the death happened in 2015, Isaac’s first trial didn’t occur until 2021.
That ended in a hung jury. A second trial ended in a conviction in 2024.
Tom said there was no physical evidence linking his son to the drugs. Instead, the state relied on eyewitness testimony, or witnesses stating that Isaac sold the drugs.
Furthermore, he said that the person who last saw the victim alive was not cooperative, and he didn’t testify.
Rich interjected at this point and said he believed that there could be a strong case for ineffective counsel if Isaac’s lawyers didn’t track him down and call him.
Isaac got a tough sentence.
Dylan Thornton disappeared during his 18th birthday party nine years ago, and he was found dead days later at the top of a sand dune, Florida authorities said. The DJ who worked his party, 31-year-old Isaac Lemons, has now been sentenced to nearly 15 years in prison on a charge of manslaughter and sale of a controlled substance, the State Attorney’s Office for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida said Nov. 8.
Tom said the conviction was appealed immediately, and that appeal is ongoing.
