Women Baring Breasts For Fla. Deputies' Beads Leads To Firing

NAPLES, Fla.- A sheriff's sergeant who was in charge of tracking Collier County's sex offenders has been fired for trying to cover up video and photographs of young women baring their breasts for a boatload of uniformed deputies last year. The on-duty deputies offered Mardi Gras-style beads to get the women to undress and dance in a canoe race event last May. Sgt. Tige Thompson, who was one of the deputies, was fired last month. Officials said he was found to be the ringleader in taking the photos and video, then he ordered subordinates and others to get rid of the images when he heard an investigation was being started. Four other deputies were disciplined for improper conduct. Thompson, who joined the agency in 1993, was in charge of the unit tracking Collier County's sex offenders. He appealed his firing, but was turned down by Sheriff Don Hunter earlier this week. The internal affairs file, a copy of which was obtained the Naples Daily News, was made public Friday. The canoe race, an annual end-of-winter-season event, was held on May 8, 2004. It is one of the county's most crowded boating days and one of the area's biggest parties. Local waterways are flooded with officers looking for drunken boaters or trying to thwart post-race fights. No formal citizen complaints were filed, but deputies who were interviewed recalled hearing comments such as "our tax dollars at work" from passing boaters about the actions of the six deputies on the boat.

(Local 6 Article here)

Fla. Rancher Charged With Starving 120 Cows

IMMOKALEE, Fla.- A fourth-generation rancher who said he ran out of money to buy feed for his livestock has been charged with 120 felony counts of animal cruelty, authorities say. Michael Lee Swails, 47, of Immokalee, was arrested Thursday in connection with the discovery of dead, dying or severely malnourished cows on his ranch last year. He said had lost his job, got overwhelmed and didn't know what to do even though he said he was a fourth-generation cowman, officials said. In March 2004, Collier County Sheriff's deputies and Domestic Animal Services officers went to the Immokalee pasture on a tip. They said they found nearly two dozen dead cows and saw vultures feeding on two that were still alive but too weak to move. Those cows were put to death. "It is a really horrific case. The fact that such a large number of animals was involved makes this case particularly bad," said Margot Castorena, director of Collier County Domestic Animal Services. The pasture was bare and it was evident that no food delivery had been made in some time, deputies say. "The cows had eaten everything available to eat," said sheriff's Lt. Jeff Cox. The remaining cows were seized and fed by Domestic Animal Services and donations from the public. Castorena said more than 100 cows survived and were sold at auction last July. "Most of them are fat and happy now," Cox said. A trial date for Swails may be set at an April 11 hearing. A conviction on animal cruelty carries a maximum sentence of five years.

(Article here)

Teens Charged With Kidnapping 15-Year-Old Over $50 Debt

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- Three teenagers were charged with kidnapping a 15-year-old Cape Coral boy and holding him for payment of a $50 debt. On a random call, the kidnappers told the victim's father that he was playing with his son's life if he didn't pay. The father was ordered to place the payoff in a planter at a fast-food outlet where one of the suspects worked. A 17-year-old Cape Coral boy turned himself in after the arrests of a 15-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy from North Fort Myers. Police say the victim was punched in the face, held at knifepoint and kept from leaving.

(Article here)

Orlando Mayor Suspended After Indictment

Page: City Will Continue To Operate In Stable Fashion

ORLANDO, Fla.- Suspended Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the charges that he and three others violated state law are without merit and are politically motivated. Dyer, Circuit Judge Alan Apte, Dyer's campaign manager Patti Sharp and campaign consultant Ezzie Thomas are charged with violating a law enacted after Miami's 1998 mayoral election was thrown out because of fraud committed in the collection of absentee ballots. A grand jury indicted them Thursday. Dyer held a press conference Friday and said he was notified Thursday that he was the subject of an indictment charging him with "pecuniary gain for absentee ballot possession or collection." " In other words, my campaign employed a campaign worker who allegedly violated the law by encouraging older African-American voters to participate in the election process by absentee ballot and I'm being held to account for that," Dyer said. Dyer emphasized there was no charge of vote buying, vote brokering or vote manipulation at the press conference. "I do not believe any employee of any of my campaigns intentionally violated any campaign law while conducting the business of the campaign," Dyer said. "I believe the charges that have been leveled against my campaign and me are without merit and totally politically motivated. I intend to fight these charges with every ounce of strength I have." Orlando City attorney Dykes Everett said that Dyer's suspension leaves a temporary vacancy for the position of mayor that begins Friday and ends when the suspension in revoked or Dyer is permanently removed from office. According to state law and city of Orlando charter, the temporary vacancy will be filled by a special election. City Council will meet within 10 days and establish a time for the special election as well as a candidate qualification period, Everett said. The primary vote in the election should occur in the next two months. Until the position is filled, the mayor pro tem will take over the duties of mayor. Orlando Mayor Pro Tem Ernest Page assumed the duties of city mayor Friday. "Today, our city was faced with a unique challenge, and we have faced that challenge in an orderly manner," Page said. "I want to assure everyone that our city will continue to operate in a sound and stable fashion." Page met with department heads of the city Friday afternoon. Dyer, Apte and Sharp all declined comment earlier Friday as they left the Orange County Jail after being booked on one count of providing pecuniary gain for absentee ballot possession or collection. Thomas was charged with accepting pecuniary gain for absentee ballot possession or collection. Both are third-degree felonies punishable by up to five years in prison. But Sharp's attorney, Bill Sheaffer, said the defendants committed no crimes. He said the indictment "is the result of a number of circumstances that have created an imperfect storm. The circumstances being powerful political operatives, witnesses who have not told the truth and a rogue grand jury that does not have the ability to discern the truth." Dean Mosley, Thomas' attorney, said that just because his client was indicted doesn't necessarily mean he will be prosecuted. Thomas and his attorney said they were surprised by the indictment. "You have to have intent to commit a crime," Mosley said. "My client never had any intent to commit any crime." The grand jury had been investigating whether absentee ballots were illegally collected by Thomas for the campaigns of Dyer and Apte before last year's election. Special prosecutor Brad King, who was brought in from Marion County, declined comment Friday, an aide said. Later Friday, Gov. Jeb Bush suspended Dyer from office. The grand jury looked into allegations that Thomas illegally gathered absentee ballots in predominantly black neighborhoods. Thomas was hired by Dyer's campaigns for Florida attorney general and Orlando mayor to perform get-out-the-vote activities. Thomas also has worked for some of central Florida's most prominent politicians, including now-U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, when he was a local county official, and Secretary of State Glenda Hood, when she was mayor. Dyer, a former state senator, was first elected mayor in a February 2003, filling in the remainder of Hood's term after she was appointed to state office. Dyer has said that he signed checks and approved invoices, worth about $10,000, for Thomas during his 2004 re-election campaign. But the documents did not say what Thomas was being paid to do and Dyer has said he didn't know, either. Earlier this year, Dyer testified in a separate civil lawsuit deposition that he was not involved in field work with his campaign. The civil lawsuit was brought by the runner-up in the mayoral race, Ken Mulvaney, who sued to have the election thrown out. Dyer won re-election by nearly 5,000 votes but cleared the threshold that triggers a runoff by only 234. "I was mayor. I spent most of my time being mayor," Dyer said in the deposition. "I spent very little time actually on the campaign."

(Local 6 article here)

Burglary Suspect Dies After DeLand Police Use Stun Gun

DELAND, Fla.- A burglary suspect resisting an arrest attempt died after being hit three times with Taser stun guns, police said Monday. Officials said Willie Towns, 30, stopped breathing en route to a hospital Sunday night, Chief Edward J. Overman said. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. Police said Towns told them he had been using cocaine earlier Sunday. "The actual time he had trouble breathing ... was maybe 10 minutes away from the Taser shot," Overman said. Police said they first used pepper spray on the suspect, then used stun guns after he struggled with officers. "He fought pretty hard," Overman said. "He has superhuman strength, as I like to call it." DeLand officers were issued Tasers in August, and have used the weapons on 10 people.

(Local 6 article here)

Lice Outbreak Hits Schools, Angers Parents

A lice infestation at several Central Florida elementary schools has angered parents because they didn't hear it first from school officials, according to Local 6 News. The lice outbreak affects students at beachside schools in Brevard County, including Gemini Elementary, Local 6 News reported. School district administrators are downplaying the reported outbreak, saying lice problems happen every year at almost every school, according to the report. "Did you know that it's probably at every one of our schools?" School District Spokesperson Sara Stern asked in a Local 6 News partner Florida Today report. "Every school every year does some kind of education about controlling head lice -- the idea is prevention." Administrators in the area said they decided several years ago to stop notifying parents if a student in their child's class had head lice. The action is based in part on recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Parents said they are still frustrated at the lack of information coming from the school. The principal of Gemini Elementary has sent home a note informing parents of the outbreak and asking them to check their child's head nightly.

(Local 6 article here)

Teens Leaping For Thrills In 'Garage Jumping' Trend

ORLANDO, Fla.- Teenagers in Orlando, Fla., are leaping between 80-foot high public parking garages in a new trend called "garage jumping," according to a Local 6 News investigation. Local 6 News reported that the thrill seekers are vaulting themselves between garages in downtown Orlando. Tim Bargfrede told Local 6 News that he was following friends when he attempted to garage jump and did not make it to the other side. Bargfrede fell six stories and was knocked unconscious on impact. "I just didn't make it," Bargfrede said. Bargfrede survived the 80-foot fall but was injured. "The first time I came to the garage after my son's accident, I looked over and I just about broke out in tears," the boy's father Tim Bargfrede said. "I can't believe he actually survived. He looked like he was near death." "He (Bargfrede) is not he first person, he is not the second person, there have been four or five other individuals before him that did this," family's attorney Vincent D'Assaro said. The city of Orlando owns one of the downtown parking lots next to a private parking garage owned by Orlando Tower LP, according to Local 6 News. Orlando Parking Garage Director Samuel Vennero admitted he was aware of at least one other incident where a garage jumper didn't make it to the other side. "I don't think we recognized it before as a danger," Vennero said. There are no safety fences in place on the parking garage. D'Assaro is filing a lawsuit against the city of Orlando and the private garage owner for making little effort to correct a potential deadly risk. "There was a very, very short length of fence that was completely ineffective in preventing this from happening," D'Assaro said. Local 6 News reported that thrill seekers are vaulting themselves between garages in downtown Orlando. Orlando Tower LP, the private parking lot owner, refused to comment about their responsibility, according to the report. Since Bargfrede fell, the City of Orlando erected a partial fence but there's still room for someone to take a dangerous dive. The family says that's not good enough and that both garages need to take responsibility before a garage jumper loses his life.

(Local 6 article here)