Florida, the Phallus of a Nation

Police Investigating Whether Boy's Rape Was Taped By Mom

2005-04-23T16:36:00.000-04:00

LAUDERDALE LAKES, Fla.- Detectives are investigating a 9-year-old boy's allegations that his mother videotaped him being raped by a man, then sold or gave away the tape. The Broward County Sheriff's Office is looking into a formal complaint that the boy was raped at least five times between July and October, spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said. Detectives are searching for the tape, she said. The man, Kevin Jerome Bynes, 27, of Lauderdale Lakes, was arrested Tuesday on five counts of sexual battery on a child under 12. He was being held without bond in the Broward County Jail. "The victim stated that his mother once witnessed the defendant raping him and also videotaped the incident," Coleman-Wright said Friday. Bynes' arrest affidavit states that the boy's older sister told detectives that she saw Bynes enter her brother's bedroom and that she believed her brother was being assaulted. He has denied the charges. Bynes has violated his probation on false imprisonment charges out of Leon County, the sheriff's office said. The boy's 29-year-old mother has been jailed since Oct. 18 on charges stemming from an aggravated battery charge in an unrelated case. She also is denying the allegations that she videotaped her son being raped.

(Local 6 article here)

Video: Police handcuffed 5-year-old girl

2005-04-23T16:33:00.000-04:00

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. --A 5-year-old girl was handcuffed by police after she tore papers off a bulletin board and punched an assistant principal in kindergarten class, according to a video released by a lawyer for the child's mother. The 30-minute tape shows the child appearing to calm down before three officers pinned her arms behind her back and put on handcuffs as she screamed, "No!" The camera was rolling March 14 as part of a classroom self-improvement exercise at Fairmount Park Elementary, attorney John Trevena said. Trevena, who provided the tape to the media this week, said he got it from police. "The image itself will be seared into people's minds when you have three police officers bending a child over a table and forcibly handcuffing her," said Trevena, who represents the girl's mother, Inga Akins. Police spokesman Bill Proffitt said an investigation into the matter would be complete in about two weeks and the findings would be made public.

(Boston Globe article here)

Overflowing Toilets Send Sewage Into Elementary School Hallways

2005-04-23T16:32:00.000-04:00

MAITLAND, Fla.- A Maitland elementary school was cleared when toilets backed up and sent sewage flowing into first-floor hallways. An electrical problem at a sewage lift station near the school was blamed for the overflowing toilets. The backup forced the evacuation of about 200 students at Domerich Elementary School, according to the report. Twelve classes were shifted to different rooms in the three-story building during the cleanup. The principal at Dommerich Elementary School said the overflow was a clear liquid. A similar thing happened during power outages after last year's hurricanes when no students were in the building.

(Local 6 article here)

Man Confesses 'It Was Kind Of Fun' Killing Neighbor

2005-04-23T16:29:00.000-04:00

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla.- A 34-year-old man said during a jailhouse interview with Local 6 News that he enjoyed killing his "busy body" neighbor and would kill again if given the chance. Zommer was arrested Tuesday in connection with the death of a 77-year-old woman who was found dead in her home on Miami Terrace in Osceola County. Police found Zommer driving a car missing from the home. Zommer admitted to Local 6 News Wednesday that he killed his neighbor. He said she was a busy body and he wanted her dead, according to the report. He also said he was tired of the woman spying on him so he brutally beat her and sliced her throat. "I would do it again," Zommer said for jail Wednesday. "It was kind of fun. You see, when it was done I went home and ate and I went back and made the house look like a robbery. I was in there for a while." Zommer said it was easy to forget about the crime. "It was like I was sitting down and somebody else was doing it because I was like out and looking in," Zommer said. "It felt so good when it was done." Neighbors found the body of a woman, who was not identified, early Tuesday inside her home on Miami Terrace in Osceola County. Police are trying to determine an exact cause of death. "We do know that there were obvious signs of struggle," Osceola County Sheriff's Office Capt. July Rivers said. "The medical examiner has come and removed the body, and we will wait until the autopsy is completed before we will know the exact of death." Zommer said he also randomly attacked a man walking down the street hours after killing the woman. "I beat that guy later that night with a crowbar about nine times over 75 cents," Zommer said. During the afternoon interview, Zommer also said he had planned to kill his girlfriend and also threatened Local 6 News reporter Deborah Garcia. "What purpose do I have to live, to drive a Saturn around and smoke crack all my life?" Zommer said. Zommer was not charged with the woman's murder Wednesday night. However, he was charged with attempted felony murder and robbery for an attack on a man, attempting to elude police and violation of probation. Investigators are looking at several other crimes Zommer admitted to on videotape, Local 6 News reported.

(Local 6 article here)

Police: Woman sold daughter for car

2005-04-23T16:27:00.000-04:00

OKEECHOBEE, Florida- A woman was arrested for allegedly forcing her 12-year-old daughter into prostitution and trading a 14-year-old daughter for a car. The 39-year-old woman was charged with aggravated child abuse and sexual performance by a child. Both girls have been turned over to the Department of Children & Families. The youngest girl and her mother were living out of their car, and would sell sex for food and an occasional shower at the men's homes, according to a report by Okeechobee County Sheriff's Detective K.J. Ammons. The youngest daughter is three months pregnant, the report said; she was 11 when her mother first forced her to have sex with a man. The older daughter refused to be a prostitute and was allegedly sold for a car. "She was sold to a man for a Mercury Cougar," Ammons said. "But he never gave the mother the vehicle." He was arrested in the case. The youngest girl told detectives her mother took them out of school. "She said she was a good student and made A's and B's, and all she wants to do is go back to school," he said.

(CNN article here)

Car Stolen With Infant Inside After Sitter Leaves Keys In Ignition

2005-04-23T16:26:00.000-04:00

Authorities in Orlando are searching for a man who allegedly stole a minivan with a 1-year-old girl inside after the infant's babysitter left the keys in the ignition at a dry cleaners, according to Local 6 News. Investigators said the car was left at Kim's Dry Cleaners with the motor still running Monday morning when an unidentified man hopped in and drove off. "Apparently, the babysitter left the keys in the ignition so the suspect hopped into the vehicle and drove off," Orange County Sheriff's spokeswoman Barbara Miller said. The car thief dropped the baby, still inside a car seat, at the entrance of a Save Rite Grocery Warehouse store in Orange County. He drove the vehicle away from the scene. Police are still searching for the missing mini-van. It is described as a hunter green Dodge mini-van with license plate P01-5JW. "How many times do we have to inform viewers or citizens to secure your vehicle and never leave a child unattended in that vehicle, Miller said.

(Local 6 Article Here)

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

2005-03-27T23:47:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-19T18:03:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-19T18:02:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-07T21:02:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-02T15:21:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-01T19:57:00.000-05:00

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)

Florida boy accused of assault with rubber band

2005-02-24T17:03:00.000-05:00

13-year-old suspended 10 days after confrontation with teacher

A 13-year-old student in Orange County, Fla., was suspended for 10 days and could be banned from school over an alleged assault with a rubber band, according to a WKMG Local 6 News report. Robert Gomez, a seventh-grader at Liberty Middle School, said he picked up a rubber band at school and slipped it on his wrist. Gomez said when his science teacher demanded the rubber band, the student said he tossed it on her desk. After the incident, Gomez received a 10-day suspension for threatening his teacher with what administrators say was a weapon, Local 6 News reported. "They said if he would have aimed it a little more and he would have gotten it closer to her face he would have hit her in the eye," mother Jenette Rojas said. Rojas said she was shocked to learn that her son was being punished for a Level 4 offense -- the highest Level at the school. Other violations that also receive level 4 punishment include arson, assault and battery, bomb threats and explosives, according to the Code of Student Conduct. The district said a Level 4 offense includes the use of any object or instrument used to make a threat or inflict harm, including a rubber band. Rojas plans to fight the ruling but her son still faces expulsion. "It's ridiculous, it's a rubber band," Rojas said. The school's principal could not comment because the case is still under investigation. A district spokesman said there is still a series of meetings the district will have before Gomez is officially expelled.

(Florida Today article here)

Man Burning Cards From Girlfriend Sets House On Fire

2005-02-24T17:00:00.000-05:00

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.- A 19-year-old man in College Park who was burning cards from an old girlfriend in a house they once shared caused a fire that caused $100,000 worth of damage and gutted most of the structure. Fifty Orlando firefighters responded to flames at a home located at 33 Langston Court near Edgewater Drive Wednesday. Firefighters at the scene said Michael Ohoro told them he started the fire, Local 6 News reported. Friends and family told Local 6 News that Ohoro was being forced out of the house. He appeared to be emotionally upset when firefighters arrived at the scene, Local 6 News reported. Ohoro was taken into custody but not arrested in connection with the fire. He was sent to a mental-health facility for a psychiatric evaluation.

(AP article here)

Fla. Man Finds 6-Foot African Rock Python In Toilet

2005-02-24T16:59:00.000-05:00

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- A St. Petersburg man received a rude awakening Tuesday when he lifted the lid on his toilet and found a snake curled inside, with its head sticking out of the bowl. With the help of his wife, Shannon Scavotto caught the snake using an improvised noose and put it in a pillowcase. The reptile was confirmed to be a 6-foot African rock python. Experts said the serpent is just a baby, as African rock pythons get as big as 20 feet long or longer. Scavotto called his boss to tell him he'd be late because he'd had to wrestle a snake out of his toilet. His boss joked he would need a better excuse than that. Scavotto told the boss he'd bring it in so he could see it. So he did. One of Scavotto's co-workers called a friend who raises snakes. The friend said she would come and get it and try to rehabilitate it. The Scavottos are placing an ad in the paper for anyone who may have lost the snake.

(AP article here)

Man Offered Girls $5 For Sexual Favors, Police Say

2005-02-24T16:57:00.000-05:00

MIAMI- Police arrested an accused sexual predator, who investigators said was targeting children, at a Miami apartment complex Wednesday night. William Pierce is accused of propositioning at least four girls, ages 6 through 12, for sex. Police said he would offer the girls $5 if they would allow him to be their secret admirer and perform sexual acts. Police think there might be other victims.

(Local 6 article here)

Fla. Girl Convicted Of Killing Friend Over Fireworks Dispute

2005-02-23T15:48:00.000-05:00

PENSACOLA, Fla.- A 15-year-old girl was convicted of second-degree murder for slitting the throat of a longtime friend over a dispute about fireworks. After four hours of deliberation, the jury returned the verdict Tuesday against Christine Rogers, who was 13 when she was arrested in the July 2003 death of Ashley Harvey, 15. Rogers was tried as an adult and could face up to life in prison at sentencing scheduled for March 23. "It feels like this is at least some kind of closure," said Beverly Harvey, Ashley's mother. "Our family is trying to move on, but it's hard when you have to visit your daughter in the cemetery." Harvey bled to death after being stabbed in the neck by Rogers, who witnesses testified chased Harvey with a butcher knife. Neighbors and others testified that the two girls had fought that day because Rogers believed Harvey was shooting fireworks at one of her younger sisters. Rogers testified that she believed Harvey was among a group of people arguing with her sister. She told police investigators that when Harvey began to call her names, she "clicked." "She didn't mean for it to happen. She was shocked afterward, and she really didn't realize what had happened and how," defense attorney Sharon Potter said during her closing argument. Assistant State Attorney David Rimmer disagreed. "Christine Rogers chased Ashley Harvey down the street that night," Rimmer said. "She had a knife in her hand and evil in her heart."

(AP article here)

Orlando Teacher Under Investigation After Alleged Assault On Student

2005-02-19T17:00:00.000-05:00

A teacher in Orlando is under investigation this weekend for allegedly assaulting a 12-year-old student at a middle school, Local 6 News has learned. Michael Jones, 12, said he was serving an in-school suspension at Walker Middle School when teacher Garry Chaderton confronted him, according to the report. Jones said when he talked back to Chaderton, the man walked him outside the portable classroom and lifted him off the ground. "He like grabbed me right here, picked me up off the ground and threw me into the portable," Jones said. The school's principal said the school district is investigating and Chaderton no longer has any contact with students. He was still employed with the school early Saturday. Chaderton has no history of violence in the five years he has been teaching science at the school, according to the principal. The school resource officer was still in the process of filing a report, Local 6 News reported.

(Local 6 article here)

Neo-Nazi Group Plans To Recruit At Daytona Speedway

2005-02-17T16:21:00.000-05:00

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.- Police in Daytona Beach have been alerted that a neo-Nazi group called the National Alliance plans to promote white supremacy and recruit members at the Daytona International Speedway during race weekend, Local 6 News has learned. The organization reportedly told Local 6 News that it plans to be at the racing event in the Speedway parking lots and near the beach handing out fliers explaining its ideology to "like minded people," according to the report. "We have some information that the National Alliance may come into Daytona Beach," Daytona Beach police chief Dennis Jones said. "The biggest fear is that they could cause a problem in a crowded situation if they were to incite a disturbance." Law enforcement had already planned tight security for the Daytona 500 race. FBI agents, Florida Highway Patrol officers, local police and the county sheriff's force will be patrolling the event that will have a national audience. "I'm concerned that this hate group is going to try to associate themselves with something that is considered to be one of the greatest events," Daytona commissioner Dwayne Taylor said. The Daytona Police told Local 6 News that they have never had any problems with the National Alliance and there have been no threats made for the Daytona 500, according to Local 6 News.

(Local 6 article here)

Police: Teacher Instructed Students On Bomb-Making

2005-02-16T16:02:00.000-05:00

Chemical Breakdown For Explosive Used By Suicide Bombers Reportedly Found

ORLANDO, Fla.- A high school chemistry teacher was arrested after students claimed he taught his class how to make a bomb, the sheriff's office said. David Pieski, 42, used an overhead projector in class to give instructions in making explosives to students at Freedom High School, including advising them to use an electric detonator to stay clear from the blast, an Orange County sheriff's arrest report said. In Pieski's classroom, authorities said they found the chemical breakdown for an explosive used by Middle East suicide bombers. It was not clear if the information found in a book labeled "Demo" was shared with students, the arrest report said. One student said he set off an explosive device at a golf course on Jan. 6 and videotaped it, an arrest warrant showed. The videotape shows an explosion, and the voice of a young man can be heard shouting. "You can see by the nature of the explosion the significant boom with a significant fire ball," Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Solomons said. "So, had someone been in close proximity to that device and it exploded prematurely, they could have been seriously hurt." Pieski was charged with possessing or discharging a destructive device and culpable negligence. Pieski, who was booked into the Orange County Jail on Monday, declined comment. He was later released on $1,000 bail. School district area Superintendent Judy Cunningham said Pieski was reassigned to a desk job in her office after he was interviewed by authorities. He is still earning his salary. Pieski told investigators he detonated chemicals in a coffee can by a ball field four times for his students, the sheriff's office said. He said he did this as a chemistry project to show a reaction rate, the arrest report said. "Pieski admitted to me that he observed (the student's) video and approved of his successful results," the arrest warrant said. "Pieski disagreed with the project being an explosion." Pieski guided investigators to an unlocked metal cabinet in the back of a classroom, where there was "a can of black powder stored next to other chemicals," the sheriff's office said. School officials told investigators that Pieski previously had been told he was not allowed to have any form of explosive on campus.

(Local 6 article here)

Deltona Man Arrested In 'Man/Boy' Sex Sting

2005-02-15T16:07:00.000-05:00

Police: Group Charged With Planning To Travel To Mexico For Sex With Boys

Seven members of the North American Man/Boy Love Association, including two Florida men, were arrested in Southern California and charged with planning to travel to Mexico to have sex with boys, authorities said. our men were arrested in Los Angeles and three in San Diego Saturday. They were charged Monday, following a sting operation in which each man allegedly paid hundreds of dollars to an undercover agent to arrange the sex, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said during a news conference. The seven charged Monday included Gregory Mark Nusca, 43, of Dania Beach, Fla., also known as David R. Busby or Steven West, and Paul Ernest Zipszer, 39, of Deltona, Fla. An eighth man, Jeff Devore, 53, of Fullerton was charged with distributing child pornography as a result of the sting, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. Devore, a minister at the Brea Congregational Church, in Orange County, Calif., was not accused of planning to go on the Mexico trip. He was allowed to post bail but it was immediately unknown whether he had done so. A phone call to the church seeking comment and a message left on Devore's answering machine were not immediately returned. "This investigation exemplifies the FBI's commitment nationwide, and the commitment of our local, state and federal task force partners, to finding child predators within the United States and beyond our borders," Richard Garcia, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles office, said in a statement. The men allegedly had traveled from their home to Southern California with the expectation of boarding a boat to Ensenada, Mexico, where they were told sex with the boys was awaiting them at a bed-and-breakfast, Eimiller said. Through the undercover agent, she said, they requested that the boys be as young as 8 years old. Authorities said the North American Man/Boy Love Association, which was formed in 1978 and advocates relationships with men and boys, was not charged in the case.

(AP article here)

Woman Runs During Wedding Proposal At Magic Game

2005-02-15T16:05:00.000-05:00

ORLANDO, Fla.- What was supposed to be a magical moment at Sunday night's Orlando Magic basketball game instead turned into an embarrassing memory for one man, according to Local 6 News. The unidentified man asked his girlfriend to marry him in front of thousands of fans at the Magic's 97-94 victory over the New Orleans Hornets at the TD Waterhouse Centre. The man, who was standing on the court, dropped to a knee and asked the woman to marry him. Instead of answering, the woman turned and ran off the court with her face in her hands. Meanwhile, Steve Francis scored 22 points and handed out 10 assists to lead the Orlando. Hedo Turkoglu also had 22 points in the win.

(Local 6 article here)

Orlando Coach Resigns Following Soccer Hazing Incident

2005-02-15T16:03:00.000-05:00

ORLANDO, Fla.- A high school soccer coach has resigned under pressure after a 15-year-old player was dropped on her head in a hazing incident. Cori Valleau, 29, said Saturday she quit as girls' soccer coach and a dean's office assistant at Bishop Moore High School after being told she would be fired otherwise. She blamed her departure on the hazing incident during a road trip to Miami on Jan. 7. Carol Brinati, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Orlando, which runs the school, said the resignation was accepted Friday but she declined to elaborate. Three teammates were suspended from playing in the state playoffs after a Bishop Moore investigation concluded students had acted improperly. A freshman goalkeeper said she was held upside down after she refused to sing songs and perform push-ups as veteran players demanded. The 15-year-old said teammates dropped her as they tried to dunk her head in a toilet bowl. The girl's mother said her daughter suffered slurred speech, blurred vision and difficulty sleeping. The mother complained she was not notified by the school and only heard about the incident after her daughter complained of headaches. The diocese has apologized to the girl's family.

(AP article here)

Man Gets Life For Burning Tire Necklace That Killed Woman

2005-02-15T16:02:00.000-05:00

GAINESVILLE, Fla.- For the second time, a Gainesville man has been sentenced to life in prison for burning a woman to death by putting a tire around her neck and lighting it on fire. Christopher Beckham, 27, was found guilty in December of the January 2000 second-degree murder of Annette Graham, 47, of Gainesville. Circuit Court Judge George H. Pierce imposed the sentence Monday. Beckham was initially convicted in December 2002, but the verdict was overturned because the court did not explain the manslaughter charge to the jury, which is required in a murder trial. The state attorney's office ordered a new trial. Graham's body was found burning in a field on Jan. 7, 2000, behind a convenience store in Gainesville. Investigators said she was missing her clothes, jewelry and money. State Attorney Bill Cervone said he was pleased with the sentence. "He got a life sentence, and that is what we had requested and expected," Cervone said. "He was tried and convicted before, and he got life, but it was reversed because of an instructional error. So it was our hope that when he was convicted a second time, the outcome would be the same." Beckham's defense attorney John M.Stokes said he already was working on an appeal because of the state law requiring a mandatory sentence. "This is the downside of mandatory-sentencing law. It takes away discretion when judges wish to use it, if that was the case here." During Beckham's trial last year, prosecutors used DNA evidence from blood-stained clothes. Beckham has a criminal history including battery of a law enforcement officer and theft. He was released from the Florida Department of Corrections in 1997.

(AP article here)

Beer-Bottle Attack Ends Up Saving Woman

2005-02-12T20:26:00.000-05:00

NAPLES, Fla.- A blow to the head with a beer bottle may have saved Sally Hampton's life. While doctors were examining her after the barroom attack, they discovered a brain tumor that could have killed her. The tumor was removed, and Hampton, 64, is fully recovered. On Monday, she testified against her attacker, Fidel Trujillo, who was convicted of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison. "It was one of the worst things that could happen to an elderly person, but in the end it saved her life," prosecutor Erik Lombillo said. Hampton was attacked July 4 at a bar in Immokalee, a farming town in southwestern Florida. According to prosecutors, she put her hand on Trujillo's shoulder to lead him out of the place when the bartender wanted to close up. Trujillo bashed her with a bottle and kicked her in the head and body when she fell. Hampton was taken to Lehigh Regional Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening. During a test, doctors found the tumor.

(Original article here)

Police: Housekeeper Tortured Over Missing Money

2005-02-12T19:44:00.000-05:00

Household Chemicals, Bleach Reportedly Poured Down Woman's Throat

A housekeeper in Brevard County, Fla., had household chemicals, including bleach, poured down her throat, was strangled and then buried in a shallow grave over some missing money, according to authorities. Titusville police received information Friday that a body was buried in an unmarked grave somewhere off state Road 46. When investigators began questioning people, they learned that Wenda Wright, (pictured, left) who was a housekeeper for Margaret Allen at 415 South Robbins Avenue had allegedly been killed in the house and transported to some nearby woods. "Chemicals were poured into her mouth, duct tape was placed over her mouth, so this was not a fast death. It was a torturous death unfortunately," Titusville police spokesman Warren Van Buren said. Allen, 39, reportedly told investigators that she killed Wright because she thought Wright had stolen her purse containing $2,000. When Wright would not admit to taking the purse, Allen reportedly became enraged and started beating Wright. Police said Allen's son, Quintin, 19, helped hold the woman down as Margaret Allen allegedly poured chemicals down her throat. Margaret Allen and son then allegedly strangled her with a belt, according to the report. After questioning Quintin Allen, he reportedly revealed to police the approximate location of Wright's body. James Martin, 50, was also arrested and charged with accessory after the fact. It is believed that Martin helped bring Wright's body out to a remote area. All three were arrested and transported to the Brevard County Jail. Margaret Allen and Quintin Allen are both charged with first-degree murder and false imprisonment.

(Local 6 article here)

'Chunky' Boy Avoids Serious Injury After Being Shot

2005-02-10T20:04:00.000-05:00

LAUREL HILL, Fla.- A few extra pounds may have saved James "Bubba" Taylor's life. The boy, who turns 9 on Tuesday, avoided serious injury after being struck by a .38-caliber bullet during a target-shooting accident, officials said. "He's a little chunky," his grandmother, Alice Harper, told the Northwest Florida Daily News for its Tuesday editions. "Thank God." Taylor was shot Saturday by a neighbor, James Hinshaw, 44, who was practicing marksmanship with the child. The bullet entered Taylor's right side, and traveled through his flesh without striking any organs. Harper said the boy didn't even originally realize he'd been shot until he looked down and saw blood. "He heard the shot and it scared him because he was so close," Harper said. Taylor was taken by helicopter to a hospital, where he was treated and released the same day. The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office is classifying the incident as an accident.

(AP article here)

Car Slams Into Orlando Home

2005-02-08T21:24:00.000-05:00

"This is the fourth car that has run into my yard," neighbor Dana Martin said. "It's just scary. I've got two young kids, an 8 year old and a 4 year old, always out here riding on their bikes. I have tried so many times to get someone to come out and take a look and to do whatever they can to put some speed bumps or whatever. I was told in order to get speed bumps, we're going to have to raise the funds for it ourselves."

(Local 6 article here)

Firefighter Accused Of Biting Head Off Pet Parrot

2005-02-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

Report: 34-Year-Old Offers To Replace The Parrot

An Edgewater, Fla., firefighter faces animal cruelty charges after allegedly biting the head off a pet parrot during a pre-Super Bowl party, according to Local 6 News. Police said the incident occurred at a party early Sunday morning at the home of Bruce Coates, 34, (pictured, left) of the Saddle Club Estates community near state Road 44 and state Road 415. Coates, 34, told deputies that he was drinking alcohol and couldn’t remember what happened. He was apologetic and offered to replace the parrot, according to the sheriff's report. Witnesses told deputies that Coates and several other people were playing billiards. The parrot was on one of the player's shoulder when Coates grabbed the parrot, put the bird’s head in his mouth and bit it off. Witnesses said blood splattered on the wall and formed a puddle on the carpet. Coates fled the clubhouse after the incident. On Sunday, deputies filed a complaint affidavit charging Coates with a felony count of animal cruelty and one count of criminal mischief, a misdemeanor offense. The Sheriff’s Office plans to seek a warrant for Coates' arrest.

(Local 6 article here)

Central Fla. Woman Accused Of Beating Boyfriend With Hammer

2005-02-05T14:33:00.000-05:00

A woman in Osceola County, Fla., was arrested Friday for allegedly beating her boyfriend with a hammer, according to Local 6 News. Helen Weber (pictured, left) told deputies that her boyfriend began hitting her so she retaliated by hitting him over the head with the hammer until he stopped. Detectives believe alcohol may have played a factor, Local 6 News reported. Weber was charged with aggravated abuse in connection with the alleged attack.

(Local 6 article here)

Florida "Torture" Couple Caught In Utah

2005-02-05T14:25:00.000-05:00

INVERNESS, Fla.- A Florida couple accused of torturing and starving five adopted children - including pulling out their toenails and subjecting them to electric shocks - were captured Friday in southeastern Utah after police tracked them through their cell phones, officials said. John and Linda Dollar were picked up by two deputies around 7:30 p.m. EST south of Blanding in southeastern Utah, according to the San Juan County (Utah) Sheriff's Department. They were being held in county jail on Florida warrants of felony aggravated child abuse. The couple were easily tracked because they continued using their cell phones in Utah, Citrus County sheriff's Capt. Jim Cernich said. The Dollar family included seven adopted children between the ages of 12 and 17. Five of the children have told investigators they were tortured by the couple, subjected to electric shocks, beatings with hammers and having their toenails yanked out with pliers. Deputies who raided their central Florida home Friday found an electric cattle prod, sticks, belts and a vise that were allegedly used in the torture, Cernich said. Authorities said the abused five had physical injuries supporting their claims and were so severely malnourished that they weighed no more than elementary school children. "They looked like the photos that we've seen of Auschwitz," said Citrus sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Tierney, describing 14-year-old twins, one weighing 36 pounds, the other 38 pounds.

(Local 6 article here)

Police Cuff, Arrest 6-Year-Old Accused Of Hitting Teacher

2005-01-28T14:52:00.000-05:00

Boy Allegedly Hit Teacher, Officer With Books

MELBOURNE, Fla.- A 6-year-old boy was put in handcuffs and charged with felony battery after he hit his teacher and a police officer with books, authorities said. The 60-pound first grader appeared in court Thursday, a day after his arrest at Endeavour Elementary School. The Rockledge boy told officers he was upset because "someone's grandmother died," said Barbara Matthews, a spokeswoman for the Cocoa Police Department. "He's a tiny, little kid, so when the two officers first went, they tried to give him benefit of the doubt," Matthews said. "But he was also out of control. Once he struck the teacher, it became a battery." A police officer tried to talk with the child, but he was struck in the forehead with a book thrown from 8 feet away, Matthews said. The boy, who was not named, was handcuffed after the teacher asked that he be prosecuted, Matthews said. The boy's mother was called before the arrest. Officials said the boy also had a violent episode with another teacher nearly three months ago. He was turned over to juvenile detention authorities but later was allowed to go home. The child was suspended from school for 10 days. No information on his lawyer was available. Prosecutors temporarily removed the boy's case from the court docket, said David Koenig, division chief of the state attorney's juvenile division. "The focus now is to prevent him from self-destructing," Koenig said. "We want to find a solution."

(Article here)

Florida's Own... Randy "Macho Man" Savage

2005-01-28T14:30:00.000-05:00

(Official website here)

Police: Florida Father Used Stun Gun On Son

2005-01-27T16:48:00.000-05:00

PALM CITY, Fla.- A man was charged with child abuse after he shocked his 14-year-old son with a stun gun, authorities said. Douglas Dycus, 40, also was charged with domestic battery following a complaint to the state Department of Children & Families, Martin County sheriff's investigators said. The stun gun used was not a Taser device, officials said. Dycus used the stun gun when he became frustrated with the boy, who was wrestling with his brothers and not paying attention to him, authorities said. Two burn marks were found on the 14-year-old. Dycus told investigators he remembered using the weapon on the youth's arm on Dec. 26 out of frustration, but said he didn't recall causing a second burn on the child's abdomen. The 14-year-old was not being identified. Investigators reported Dycus has four other complaints against him with DCF, including a 2003 report that he hit the youth with a belt and left welts. Those reports are not public and Dycus has no other arrest history for abuse or domestic violence in Florida. Sheriff's Sgt. Jenell Atlas said she knows of no law that restricts ownership of stun guns, but she said they are designed primarily for self defense and subduing attackers. The shocks don't cause any lasting damage and the pain ends instantly when the device is turned off, Atlas said. The gun Dycus allegedly used requires close contact with the target, as opposed to Tasers, which allow for use from farther away because they deliver the charge through a long wire. Dycus, an engineer with a West Palm Beach firm, was jailed without bail. Palm City is about 30 miles northwest of West Palm Beach.

(AP article here)

Stunt Ridin' With Team Triple X Treme In Florida

2005-01-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

(link here)

Dad Faces Life In Fatal Apopka Bus Stop Shooting

2005-01-25T16:01:00.000-05:00

Suspect Claims He Wanted To Scare Child

Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday in the trial of a 41-year-old father charged with murdering one of his son's classmates at an Apopka, Fla., bus stop, Local 6 News reported. Clyde Blount Sr., 41, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Lonnie Hillery, 15. Hillery's son and 16-year-old Clyde Blount Jr. had reportedly been arguing for days. Their dispute erupted into a fist-fight Tuesday after they got off a bus from Apopka High. After the two Apopka High School teens were involved in the altercation, Blount's son went home and told his father about it. Police said Blount, who was reportedly angered by the story, got in a van with his son and drove up to the victim at the corner of 107 20th Street and Lake Avenue. When they found him a few blocks away, the father fired "several shots -- at least three shots -- at the other boy," hitting Hillery in the back, Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Solomons said. Hillery later died from his injuries. Tuesday, the victim's family said facing Blount is not easy. "Looking at him is not the difficult part," victim's father Lonnie Hillery said. "Knowing that he is still there and they're able to communicate and talk and interact. And knowing that I don't have my son here to talk to and find out what his needs and problems are, that's the difficult part." Blount said his intention was to scare Hillery, not to hurt him, Local 6 News reported. He is charged with second-degree murder. Blount faces a maximum of life in prison.

(Local 6 article here)

Man Shot During Road Rage Incident In Orange County

2005-01-25T16:00:00.000-05:00

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.- A 22-year-old man is recovering in the hospital after he was shot during what police are calling a case of road rage. The incident happened Monday night at the intersection of John Young Parkway and Town Center Boulevard. Police say two drivers exchanged words and then one grabbed a gun and fired at least four times. Michael Lunares, the driver of a white Honda Civic, was hit in his side. One eyewitness heard the entire incident. "I just pulled into the other parking lot, because they were going crazy and I just got out of the way," explains eyewitness Angel Garcia. Lunares is in stable condition and detectives say he's provided some details about the gunman's car, but the only description we know so far is that it is red or burgundy. Anyone with information about this case is urged to call the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

(WFTV article here)

Man Arrested For Putting Flour In Florida Mailboxes

2005-01-25T15:58:00.000-05:00

OLDSMAR, Fla.- The man suspected of putting a mysterious white powder in the mailboxes of an Oldsmar neighborhood last week has been arrested. David Vice is being arraigned Monday after undergoing a psychiatric examination. He's also suspected of putting fake explosives at businesses. Vice was charged with manufacturing, delivering, or possessing a hoax weapon of mass destruction. Deputies, crime lab technicians and the FBI went to the neighborhood on Friday when three residents found envelopes inside their mailboxes with a white powder.

(WFTV article here)

Terrifying Attack Called Hate Crime

2005-01-24T19:39:00.000-05:00

Tampa police arrest five people accused of shouting racial slurs and attacking a couple who complained about a loud party at an apartment.

(St. Petersburg Times article here)

Fla. Officer Suspended For Tear-Gassing Street

2004-11-01T08:15:00.000-05:00

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- A Tallahassee police officer is suspended after playing a practical joke on another officer. Officer David McCranie was suspended without pay for three weeks for accidentally tear-gassing a neighborhood. McCranie violated departamental policy when he set off the gas canister on another officer during a training in September. The tear gas wafted to a row of homes where children and others were playing outside. Eleven people were treated at the scene for tear gas inhalation. None had to be taken to the hospital. McCranie was also thrown off the department's TAC team, similar to a SWAT team, used in high-risk arrests, hostage situations and with barricaded suspects. Tear gas is one of many tools they use.

(AP article here)

Princeton Swimmer Drowns Off Deerfield Beach

2004-10-31T18:21:00.000-05:00

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla.- A member of the Princeton University swim team drowned in the ocean off South Florida, officials said Saturday. Alan Ebersole, 20, of Vicksburg, Miss., was found early Saturday in the in the shallow surf about three-quarters of a mile from where he was last seen in the water, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office. Ebersole had a broken neck, but the Broward Medical Examiner said the cause of his death was drowning. Detectives found no signs of foul play and no indication of drugs or alcohol. "It must have been dark," Ebersole's aunt, Lauri Collins, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "It was almost midnight. He dove into a wave that was shallow and he must have hit his head on a rock or the bottom." Ebersole was staying with teammates in Deerfield Beach during a training trip coinciding with the school's fall break. He and two friends went swimming in the ocean late Friday near their hotel. His friends came ashore and thought Ebersole had already returned to his room, deputies said. But when they noticed his clothes on the beach, they summoned a coach and other swimmers to begin a search. Ebersole was a former Mississippi state high school champion swimmer. He also won the U.S. Achievement National Mathematics Award and was the United Way male teen volunteer of the year, the newspaper reported.

(AP article here)

Lake Worth Man Accused Of 'Political Attack' On Girlfriend

2004-10-28T08:12:00.000-04:00

WEST PALM BEACH– An 18-year-old Marine recruit remained in jail on Wednesday, charged with threatening to stab his girlfriend over her choice for president, news partner NewsChannel 5 reported in its noon broadcast. The enlistee, Steven Scott Soper, of Lake Worth, became enraged Tuesday night when his 18-year-old girlfriend said she was leaving him -- and voting for John Kerry for president. Soper, who will enter the Marines as soon as he passes the GED test, solidly supports Bush. He allegedly told girlfriend Stacey Silheira, "You'll never live to see the election." Palm Beach Sheriff's Office deputies called to the home in Lake Worth said they had to use a Taser – an electronic stun gun – to subdue Soper. They described Soper as enraged and said he was holding Silheira captive. He was armed with a screwdriver and threatening to stab her in the neck, they said. When Silheira eventually broke free a deputy fired the Taser, shocking him into submission. Charged with aggravated assault, Soper remains in jail without bond until he undergoes a psychiatric exam, NewsChannel 5 reported.

(SFS-S article here)

Popular Alligator "Elvis" Found Swimming With Knife Stuck In Head

2004-10-27T16:29:00.000-04:00

Florida Fish and Wildlife officers in Sarasota, Fla., are investigating the discovery of a popular alligator swimming with a large knife stuck in its head, according to Local 6 News. The alligator, nicknamed Elvis by local residents, was apparently attacked this week in the pond he lives in. The alligator was spotted by residents swimming with the blade in its head. Residents are angered by the attack, since Elvis has never been a problem and does not bother the ducks living in the pond. Wildlife officials are trying to determine if the alligator can be saved. If the attacker is caught, the person faces fines and prison time, according to the report.

(Local 6 article here)

TV Meteorologist Accused Of Soliciting Sex With Minor

2004-10-25T16:32:00.000-04:00

MIAMI- South Florida TV meteorologist Bill Kamal was arrested Sunday in Fort Pierce as part of an investigation into sexual predators. Authorities say Kamal set up a meeting for sex over the Internet with what he thought was a 14-year-old boy. The boy was actually an undercover federal agent, police say. The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said Kamal had two condoms when he was arrested as well as two toys, one of which was a water gun. WSVN representatives said the station has fired Kamal. Kamal had been the Miami station's chief meteorologist. Investigators confiscated Kamal's laptop computer and a desktop computer, but will not say if they found anything illegal on the computers. Kamal is being held without bond in the St. Lucie County Jail.

(Local 10 article here)

Florida Man Who Killed Prankster Gets 1 Year

2004-10-23T07:52:00.000-04:00

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- A man who shot a teenage prankster to death pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter and apologized to the boy's parents. Jay Levin, 41, was sentenced to one year in jail, to be served on weekends only, and 10 years of probation. He was also ordered to leave the suburban Boca Raton neighborhood where he and the victim, Mark Drewes, lived. Drewes, 16, and a friend were knocking on neighbors' doors and running away late at night when Levin said he mistook the 6-foot-2 teen for a burglar and "thought he saw something in Drewes' hand," according to sheriff's reports from the October 2003 shooting. Levin, an accountant, answered the knock on his door armed with a handgun and shot the teen in the back, deputies said. He then called 911 and told a dispatcher he had just shot "an intruder." At the hearing, Levin apologized to Drewes' parents, saying he thought about their son every day and that the shooting was a "mistake." Luciana Drewes said she wished the apology had come sooner. "You murdered my son. You murdered me," she told Levin.

(AP article here)

Police: Mom Told Daughter God Wanted Her To Have Sex With Stepdad

2004-10-22T07:06:00.000-04:00

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla.- A woman told her 23-year-old mentally handicapped daughter that God wanted her to have sex with her stepfather, say police who arrested the mother and her husband on charges of lewd and lascivious battery against a disabled person. The 43-year-old mother and her 48-year-old husband remained in the Bay County Jail at Panama City on Thursday. His bond was set at $20,000 and hers at $5,000. They were arrested Wednesday. Their names are being withheld to protect the alleged victim's identity. The daughter, who has the mental ability of a 10-year-old, had a sexual relationship with her stepfather for the past three years at her mother's request, said police Capt. Michael Moring. "The victim was being manipulated by the mother," Moring said. "She told the victim God wanted her to do it." Investigators suspect the mother and stepfather wanted the daughter to conceive a child the couple could call their own, Moring said. A doctor who examined the daughter confirmed she had been sexually active but was not pregnant, Moring said. She has been placed in a safe house. A friend of the handicapped woman discovered the sexual relationship Tuesday and contacted police, Moring said. He said investigators conducted taped interviews with the suspects that contributed to their arrests. The public defender's office has been assigned to represent the couple, but no attorneys were there Thursday to comment.

(AP article here)

Elementary School Students Face Charges For Bags Of Marijuana

2004-10-21T08:26:00.000-04:00

ORLANDO, Fla.- Three third-graders in Orange County, Fla., face possible felony drug charges after they were caught with bags of marijuana at school, according to Local 6 News. Deputies said the 9- and 10-year old children were allegedly caught with the drugs at Pine Hills Elementary School Wednesday. The students were apparently spotted with the bags of drugs by a teacher. The Orange County Sheriff's Office has sent the case to the state attorney's office to decide whether to press charges against the children.

(Local 6 article here)

Lawyer Accused Of Inhaling Laughing Gas Outside Courthouse

2004-10-21T08:24:00.000-04:00

ORLANDO, Fla.- A 47-year-old attorney was arrested for allegedly inhaling nitrous oxide outside federal court in Orlando Wednesday, minutes after he represented a client facing illegal drug charges, according to Local 6 News. Mark Rife is accused of using and possessing nitrous oxide gas, or laughing gas, after police found 14 spend cartridges around his vehicle and 58 full cartridges inside his vehicle at the courthouse. Rife had just finished helping a client charged with conspiracy to posses and sell cocaine when he entered his car at a parking lot located under Interstate 4 in Orlando, according to the report. An alert Orange County deputy noticed that Rife appeared to be huffing or inhaling gas from metal canisters inside the vehicle. "I was getting ready to go to federal court and this was a shock," Orange County Deputy Ralph Miller said. I saw him drop the canisters out of the window and all of the sudden he puts it (car) in reverse and passes out and backs into a car." Rife got out of the vehicle and said that he had just left court and was preparing to get onto Interstate 4, according to Miller. After the crash, Orlando police officers found cartridges containing nitrous oxide in Rife's car, Local 6 News reported. Nitrous oxide induces mild euphoria, according to the report. "A lot of old Grateful Dead fans used (nitrous oxide)," an undercover drug agent on the scene said. "It gives them a high. It deprives the brain of oxygen." Inhaling harmful chemicals is a third-degree felony. Rife was booked into the Orange County Jail and then released on $1,000 bond.

(Local 6 article here)

Man Accused Of Drugging Boys At Sex Parties Sentenced

2004-10-21T08:22:00.000-04:00

ORLANDO, Fla. -A 45-year-old Orlando man accused of luring young men to his house for sex parties, and then drugging them, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and supervised probation Wednesday, according to Local 6 News. Mark Randall was originally accused of injecting men with tainted blood but reached a plea agreement with federal attorneys earlier this year clearing him of any charges connected to sexual crimes. In February, agents raided a garage in Orlando and confiscated videotapes and bloody syringes that they believed were evidence of sex crimes committed by Randall. An investigation had determined that Randall was reportedly having sex parties in the garage of his home at 211 E. Kaley St. and possibly injecting the men with blood. The government took blood samples from Randall but the results were never released. Randall pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Randall's sentence is not expected to be lengthy because federal prosecutors say he has accepted responsibility for his crime, Local 6 News reported Wednesday.

(Local 6 article here)

Woman Punched In Face After Stopping To Help Man

2004-10-19T08:28:00.000-04:00

Authorities in Port Orange, Fla., are searching for man who punched a woman in the face after she stopped to help him on Interstate 95, according to Local 6 News. Police said a woman motorist was driving a white mini-van southbound on I-95 near the Williamson Boulevard overpass this weekend when she noticed a man waving his arms. When the woman stopped to help the man, the suspect punched the woman several times in the face. The woman then ran from the car on foot and called police from her cell phone. The man jumped in her car and drove away, according to the report. The victim said the man was in his late teens with a stocky build and short hair.

(Local 6 article here)

Truck Kills Fla. Man Turning Lawn Mower In Road

2004-10-18T08:22:00.000-04:00

MOLINO, Fla. -An elderly Escambia County man died when he drove his rider mower into the road for a turn in front of his house and was hit by a passing truck driven by a teenager. Edward Del Buono, 77, of Molino was killed in the collision Saturday afternoon, said volunteer fire Capt. Anthony Manning. Robert Thomas Jr., 17, of Molino was trying to pass a car when his truck hit Del Buono's mower, the Florida Highway Patrol said. There was no immediate information available on whether he faced any charges.

(AP article here)

Police Called When Crowd Of 600 Gets Unruly Waiting For Flu Shots

2004-10-18T08:18:00.000-04:00

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -Police were called when a crowd of 600 people got unruly after gathering at a St. Petersburg supermarket for hoped-for flu shots. Less than 300 doses were on hand. Store managers called police after people started screaming and hollering for tickets for the shots. Two officers and a sergeant helped restore calm. Some people spent the night in sleeping bags to be near the front of the line. Elderly men and women waited in wheelchairs and leaned on walkers. Some brought lawn chairs and umbrellas. The nation's suddenly limited supply of flu vaccine is going fast. The rush for shots has become political fodder. Democratic Senate candidate Betty Castor talked with people waiting for shots at a Tampa supermarket. She said government is not doing its job. A new ad from John Kerry's campaign blames President George W. Bush for ignoring warnings about shortages three years ago.

(AP article here)

11-Year-Old Arrested After Pointing Gun At School Bus

2004-10-17T08:31:00.000-04:00

An 11-year-old boy in Marion County, Fla., was arrested Friday after he pointed a toy gun at a Marion County school bus and another passer-by, according to the sheriff's office. A school bus driver said the student was standing on the side of Sunset Harbor Road when he pointed the faux-revolver cap gun at the bus at 6:15 a.m. Other school buses were detoured from the immediate area after the report and several deputies responded. Officers located the boy on a separate bus headed for Nike Academy based on information given by the driver. The boy admitted to having a toy gun and playing with it while waiting for the bus. During the investigation, deputies made contact with a woman who also reported that the boy had pointed a gun at her as she drove by. Hughes was transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center, where he was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of disruption of a school function.

(Local 6 article here)

Former Fla. Firefighter To Get $10,000 Over Hazing

2004-10-17T08:29:00.000-04:00

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla.- A former firefighter who was bound with plastic handcuffs last year during an apparent hazing incident will receive a $10,000 settlement. Krystyna Krakowski resigned from the Coral Springs Fire Department in January. She was notified of the settlement with the city of Coral Springs earlier this month, records show. At the time of the February 2003 incident, Krakowski was a probationary firefighter. She told investigators she was roused from her sleep at a station by five male co-workers. A blanket was thrown over her head, and her ankles were bound with plastic handcuffs. The firefighters involved in the prank fled when she struggled, investigators said. According to a city memo, Krakowski was treated for post traumatic stress disorder. She also said she was ostracized by some of her fellow firefighters, prohibiting the teamwork required to safely do her job, an Oct. 5 memo from Deputy City Attorney John Hearn said. Coral Spring's insurer settled the case in the "best interest" of the city, although it found "no wrongdoing" on the part of the city, Hearn's memo said. An investigation into the incident resulted in the firing of two firefighters. However, the two firefighters were later reinstated after an arbitrator decided termination was too severe a punishment. Coral Springs is about 13 miles north of Fort Lauderdale.

(AP article here)

Pet Lizard Causes Florida House Fire

2004-10-15T08:46:00.000-04:00

MARY ESTHER, Fla.- A pet lizard is being blamed for causing a fire that severely damaged a house, killed the reptile and put a cat in an animal hospital. The blaze began after the large orange lizard, one of Lynn Robinson's many pets, escaped from its cage Wednesday in this Fort Walton Beach suburb, said state fire marshal's investigator Gary Gazillo. The lizard apparently knocked over a heat lamp atop the cage and it landed on a comforter lying on the floor. That ignited the fire that caused an estimated $20,000 in damage to the modest three-bedroom rental house, Gazillo said. Although rare, Gazillo said it wasn't the first time he has investigated a fire caused by a lizard and a heat lamp. The flames were contained in a matter of minutes to the back bedroom, said Dave Messerschmidt, a battalion chief with the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department. Robinson and her husband, David, were at work. Firefighters and neighbors rescued their two dogs, a second lizard and one of her cats, Chewy, which was treated for smoke inhalation. A second cat was missing, but firefighters said it appears the animal escaped from the burning home. The Robinsons had found Chewy after Hurricane Ivan struck the Florida Panhandle and took him in.

(AP article here)

Men Charged After Goat Mauled By Florida Panther

2004-10-15T08:13:00.000-04:00

NAPLES, Fla.- Two Ochopee men are charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty for allegedly allowing a goat to be tied up so a panther could kill it near their campground in rural Collier County. Campground owner Jack Shealy and Richard Scholle could face up to a year in jail if convicted. Shealy had complained about the Florida panther, which was preying on animals for more than a week at the campground. Officials believe Shealy and Scholle gave permission to another man to tie up the goat in the hope it would attract the panther. Then the men would be able to track and capture or kill the panther. On June 16, the panther appeared and attacked the goat.

(AP article here)

Prosecutors Say Making 13-Year-Old Drink Hot Sauce Is Not Crime

2004-10-14T08:57:00.000-04:00

SARASOTA, Fla.- Prosecutors in Sarasota have dropped felony child-neglect charges against a man who forced his 13-year-old stepson to drink hot sauce as punishment for leaving a gate open. An attorney for Michael Massanelli said prosecutors have acknowledged that making the teenager drink hot sauce was no different than washing a child's mouth out with soap. In the words of lawyer Derek Byrd, "if giving hot sauce were criminal, then a lot of our grandmothers would have gone to jail." Sheriff's detectives charged Massanelli in June and booked him into jail on child abuse charges. An arrest report said he told detectives he was upset because his two-year-old daughter could have wandered out of the left open by his stepson. After forcing him to drink the hot sauce, the boy told detectives his stepfather wouldn't allow him to rinse his mouth, which "felt as if it were on fire." Detectives say they charged Massanelli with child abuse because he intentionally inflicted physical or mental injury upon the boy. Later, the prosecutors amended the charge to felony child neglect. But Byrd says once they examined the record, they realized there was NO malice or criminal intent.

(AP article here)

Commissioner's Son Accused Of Trying To Break Into Homes

2004-10-14T08:55:00.000-04:00

The 24-year-old son of a Central Florida commissioner was arrested Wednesday accused of trying to break into at least two homes, according to Local 6 News. Police said Justin McKinnon, who is the son of Kissimmee commissioner Wendall McKinnon, tried to enter the homes while the homeowners were inside. Homeowner Dustin Harger called 911 shortly after figuring out that McKinnon was not a repairman checking his home. "I was scared," Harger said. "I didn't know if he had a gun, if he was crazy or something like that. I hit the panic button on my car. The alarm was going off and I was hoping it would scare him off." Investigators said McKinnon has already been arrested 21 times and was on probation when he allegedly tried to break into the homes Wednesday. Local 6 News has also learned that McKinnon may also be tied to three other burglaries. McKinnon is being held without bond at the Osceola County Jail.

(AP article here)

Florida Companies Accused Of Price Gouging Flu Vaccine

2004-10-13T20:11:00.000-04:00

Several drug distribution companies in Florida are accused of price gouging the flu vaccine, according to a Local 6 News investigation. Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said some distribution companies are charging more than $700 for a vial of flu vaccine that would normally sell for $85. "The most egregious one we've received involves a company in Broward County where they've increased the price by almost 900 percent over what it would ordinarily be," Crist said. A Florida-based company, Med-Stats, is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by the attorney general's office in Kansas, Local 6 News has learned. Florida will likely file a similar lawsuit Wednesday, according to the report. "The obvious concern we have is, No. 1, people don't get the medicine they need to be vaccinated from the flu," Crist said. "No. 2., if somebody's trying to take advantage of them, with a situation like this, it's a violation of the law." There have been other scattered reports of price gouging in Florida since the shortage was announced. "We've gotten five of them now, three regarding businesses on the east coast, and two on the west coast of Florida," Crist said. Regulators shut down a vaccine plant in England on Oct. 5, halting shipment of millions of vaccine doses to the United States and creating a shot shortage.

(Local 6 article here)

Wrestler Accused Of Stabbing Opponent 14 Times In Match

2004-10-13T20:09:00.000-04:00

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- A professional wrestler accused of stabbing his opponent 14 times with a prop during a match has been arrested on a charge of aggravated battery. Both wrestlers in the local Thunder Wrestling Federation event told police the prop was brought in as part of what in wrestling is known as "hard-core," where it is not uncommon to see such props as knives, chains, bats and barbed wire. The Sunday event's promoter said it wasn't supposed to be hard-core. Police charged Jerome Young, 41, of Smyrna, Ga., who goes by the ring name of New Jack, with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was being held under $40,003 bond Tuesday in the Duval County Jail. A court appearance was set for Nov. 2. Young told police he and his opponent, William Jason Lane, 37, of Fruit Cove, planned before the match to use a piece of metal to inflict some injury. Lane, treated and released at Shands Jacksonville hospital, told officers he wasn't sure what happened but that "this is a dangerous sport," according to a police report. Lane did not want to talk about the incident Tuesday, but a woman who said she was his girlfriend told The Florida Times-Union that the event was supposed to be hard-core but not violent. "It wasn't supposed to happen like that. But it did, and he got hurt pretty bad," said Meghan Hancock. Promoter Maurice Williams said he doesn't promote hard-core. "We wrestle. You won't see any barbed wire bats and chains." Williams said wrestlers will be checked closely before future bouts. "There will be nothing ever coming near Thunder again," he said. Witnesses, including a Brunswick, Ga., police officer who videotaped the match, said it looked like it went past a routine wrestling match. Another witness said it looked like one wrestler lost control when he thought the other was "intentionally trying to hurt him," according to the police report. A fan scooped up the metal object, which has not been recovered by police. Jail records Tuesday gave no information on Young's legal representation.

(AP article here)

Son Kills Elderly Mother With Crossbow

2004-10-12T11:19:00.000-04:00

PALM CITY, Fla. -- A man was charged with murder after fatally shooting his elderly mother with a crossbow, officials said. Bruce Charles Neal, 42, had been fighting with his mother, 79-year-old Jean Neal, over her will, officials said. After taking a bike ride to cool down, he took a crossbow from the trunk of his car and shot a phonebook "so he could impress his mother with the power of the cross bow," according to a report by Martin County sheriff's officials. He said when she wasn't impressed, he shot her in the chest, the report said. Bruce Neal told authorities his mother walked into the kitchen before falling. He pulled out the arrow before calling 911, telling a dispatcher "it wasn't an accident," and that he was bipolar, according to the Stuart News. Officials found Jean Neal on the floor of the kitchen and a bloody arrow on the kitchen counter, according to a police report. Bruce Neal was handcuffed at the house, but he "began to cry again and asked me if his mother was dead," wrote Detective Rebecca S. Bagley in a report. Jean Neal was pronounced dead at Martin Memorial Medical Center. Ruth and Gerry Mefferd, neighbors in an upscale cul-de-sac, said Jean Neal was a retired nurse who had moved to Florida eight years ago with her husband, who died in April. Bruce Neal, an unemployed handyman, worked for neighbors, the couple said. "We all said we don't know what we'd do without him," said Ruth Mefferd, 89. "Nobody in the neighborhood understands." At a court hearing Monday, Bruce Neal was ordered held without bail.

(AP article here)

Woman Convicted Of Slapping Boyfriend Who Beat Her

2004-10-11T15:29:00.000-04:00

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A 45-year-old woman in Central Florida was found guilty of slapping her boyfriend while he was handcuffed after an arrest on a charge of beating her, according to Local 6 News. But a judge decided Monday to give Cynthia Williams only a year's probation and no criminal conviction. Williams admitted slapping Peter Reddy after he was arrested and charged with felony battery in the couple's home on Jan 9. She said he had hit her so hard that she suffered several fractures in her face. "But my case and the way it was handled shows the plight of battered women," she said Monday. Williams could have received a year in prison on the misdemeanor battery charge. Prosecutors had dropped the charge against Reddy, 48, after Williams refused to cooperate out of fear she might hurt her own case. But after Reddy testified against Williams on Monday, deputies arrested him again. They also served Williams with subpoenas so she would now testify against him in his case. But Williams wasn't sure she would testify. "I haven't made up my mind yet," said Williams. "There's a lot of anger in that man's heart."

(Local 6 article here)

Darth Vader Mugs Pizza Man

2004-10-08T07:51:00.000-04:00

Darth Vader walks among us, and he's not in a happy mood. That's according to Kissimmee, Fla., authorities, who reported over the weekend that a pizza deliveryman was nearly robbed by an imposing figure dressed as the "Star Wars" bad guy. "This is a criminal mind trying to think of things to do to victimize people," Osceola County Deputy Sheriff Al Dearmas told WFTV-TV of Orlando. The deliveryman brought a pizza to a Kissimmee address Sunday night, said Dearmas, only to find no one home. He got back into his car to drive away, when Darth Vader, mask, black outfit and all, suddenly materialized. In a presumably commanding voice, the evil Sith Lord ordered the deliveryman to give up all his cash. The pizza man hit the gas and sped off, but not before getting a good zap from what may have been a laser blaster, a light saber or perhaps just a stun gun. "Thank God nothing happened to the victim," Dearmas told the TV station. "We are very fortunate for that." "But things could have been much worse," he added, possibly considering the awesome power of the Dark Side. The call ordering the pizza was made from a pay phone at a drugstore around the corner. "We were able to obtain some fingerprints from the pay phone, and we have sent [them] out to ... see if we can have a match," said Dearmas. Tipsters are urged to call the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, and maybe Obi-Wan Kenobi as well.

(Article from Fox News)

Pet Dog Kills 5-Week-Old Infant

2004-10-07T10:11:00.000-04:00

JACKSONVILLE, Florida -- A 5-week-old baby left alone by his grandmother died after being mauled by the family dog. Jose Diaz was on a bed Tuesday when the dog jumped up and attacked him. Police believe a 7-year-old mutt hurt the boy, though officers also found two other dogs in the house. The baby had bites on his face and head when his parents, both 19, brought him to a fire station after the attack. He was taken by helicopter to Shands Jacksonville hospital, where he later died. Sun Woodjinski, 49, was supposed to be baby-sitting the boy. The baby's mother, Jennifer Woodjinski, was working at a nearby Taco Bell and his father, Albert Diaz, did yardwork. The mutt belonged to Jennifer Woodjinski, but she left the dog at her mother's home when she moved away and had her baby. Homicide detectives were investigating, but it appeared the death was accidental, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson said. It was unclear what would be done with the dogs.

(AP article here)

First-Grader Arrested, Handcuffed After Fight

2004-10-06T21:06:00.000-04:00

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Police handcuffed and arrested an 8-year-old boy after a fight and charged him with misdemeanor battery and criminal mischief. First grader Isaac Sutton was arrested Monday by a Tallahassee police officer after a fight with a 10-year-old boy in his neighborhood. A police report says Isaac punched and slapped the other boy during an argument. The victim's mother called police. Isaac was taken to a juvenile center and released to his mother after midnight. "This was children's stuff, a disagreement between two neighborhood kids," said Kathy Garner, Isaac's attorney. The boy's arrest was made public by his mother, Pamela Kelly. It was the second time in recent weeks that a north Florida elementary school student has been booked by police for fighting. A 7-year-old in neighboring Jefferson County was arrested at school Sept. 1 for allegedly fighting another student, hitting a teacher and scratching a police officer. In Isaac's case, assistant city attorney Rick Courtemanche said the arresting officer decided there was enough evidence to arrest the 4-foot-10, 70-pound boy. And, he said, city policy requires officers to handcuff juveniles when taking them to the county's Juvenile Assessment Center. "He just needs a good talking-to," Garner said. "This doesn't need to be handled in the judicial system."

(AP article here)

Police: Puppy Shot Man Trying To Kill Dogs

2004-09-25T13:55:00.000-04:00

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- A man who was trying to shoot seven puppies was shot himself when one of the dogs made the .38-caliber revolver discharge, deputies said. Jerry Allen Bradford, 37, of Pensacola, was charged with felony animal cruelty, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday. Bradford was being treated at an undisclosed hospital for the gunshot wound to his wrist, said sheriff's Sgt. Ted Roy. Bradford said he decided to shoot the 3-month-old puppies in the head because he couldn't find another home for the shepherd-mix dogs, according to the sheriff's office. On Monday, he was holding two puppies, one in his arms and another in his left hand, when the dog in his hand wiggled and put its paw on the trigger, making the gun discharge, the sheriff's report said. The revolver and a rifle were seized from the home, deputies said. Deputies found three of the puppies in a shallow grave outside Bradford's home, Roy said. The other four appeared to be in good health and were taken by Escambia County Animal Control, which planned to make them available for adoption. "That should never have to happen," said Bruce Rova, director of the Escambia County Animal Shelter. "There are so many options people have. We'll try to find them a new home."

(AP aricle from WKMG)

Bomb Set Off At Lakeland McDonald's After Men Receive Bad Shake

2004-09-25T13:54:00.000-04:00

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Two brothers serving in the military and a third man exploded a small bomb inside a McDonald's because they were angry over a bad milkshake, officials said. No one was hurt and damage to the restaurant was minor. Pedro Garza, 19; Joshua Hackey, 19; and Nathaniel Hackey, 21; were arrested Saturday on felony charges of making and discharging a destructive device. The older Hackey is in the Army and his brother is in the Coast Guard, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. "One of the guys said they got a bad milkshake, and they played a prank on them," sheriff's Maj. Sammy Taylor said. Investigators say the men mixed toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil in a plastic soda bottle as they sat at a table Friday evening near the restaurant's restrooms. They then capped the bottle, put it on the table and left before it exploded at 10:45 p.m. Friday. A customer sitting 10 feet away wasn't hit by the splashing chemicals. "The toilet bowl cleaner has an acid base," Taylor said. "It can burn your skin and put your eyes out." The three were identified from a surveillance video, investigators said. Marla Baine, the Hackeys' older sister, said they did not think about the consequences of their action and now regret them. "It's a stupid prank, and they weren't thinking," she said. "I've had calls from them already, and they said they wish they could turn back the hands of time." Baine said her brothers are "two good kids," who had never been in trouble with the law. "Nathan said he's ready to face what's coming to him," she said. "Maybe they'll be made examples, and people won't do this type of thing."

(AP article from WFTV)

The "Beer Belly Bandit" Strikes Again In Tampa

2004-09-25T13:52:00.000-04:00

TAMPA, Florida-- The "Beer Belly Bandit" has struck again after a 10-month break, adding to the dozens of bank robberies he has committed in Florida since 2000. The robber, known for his bulging midsection, hit a bank on Tuesday, pulling a gun on two tellers. The robbery was the first he had committed since November, when he held up a bank in Sarasota, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said. The amount stolen was not disclosed. "Normally with investigations like this, you get an abundance of leads, especially with a $25,000 reward," said agent Steve Davenport. "We're not getting much at all. It's kind of perplexing." Investigators are not sure where the bandit has been for the past 10 months. Jail is one possibility, but Davenport said police have the bandit's description and he probably would have been recognized. The Beer Belly Bandit -also known as the "Band-Aid Bandit," because he had a bandage on his face in some holdups - has a skin condition on his hands and arms that makes his skin look bleached.

(article from CNN)

Four-Year-Old Miami Girl Survives After Mother Tries To Asphyxiate Her

2004-08-13T20:09:00.000-04:00

"Sitting across from Miami police detectives, Janice Marie Miles explained she had a good reason for trying to kill her 4-year-old daughter by wrapping a plastic bag around her head. "Ms. Miles justified her actions due to her current financial decision," police officer William Moreno wrote in a statement released Thursday. And with that, police charged Miles, 32, with attempted murder and child abuse. The mother of three initially thought she had killed her little girl, and even called 911 from a pay phone to make a confession and direct them to the girl's body, police said. But the girl, whose name was not released, survived and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she is listed in stable condition. She is expected to make a full recovery."

480-Pound Woman Dies After Six Years On Couch

2004-08-12T06:49:00.000-04:00

STUART, Fla. -- A 480-pound Martin County woman has died after emergency workers tried to remove her from the couch where she had remained for about six years. Gayle Laverne Grinds, 40, died Wednesday, after a failed six-hour effort to dislodge her from the couch in her home. Workers say the home was filthy, and Grinds was too large to get up from the couch to even use the bathroom. Everyone going inside the home had to wear protective gear. The stench was so powerful they had to blast in fresh air. A preliminary autopsy on the the four-foot, ten-inch woman lists the cause of death as "morbid obesity." But officials want to know more about the circumstances inside the home. Investigators say Grinds lived with a man named Herman Thomas, who says he tried to take care of her the best he could. He has told them he tried repeatedly to get her up, but simply couldn't. No charges have been filed, but officials are looking into negligence issues. Emergency workers had to remove some sliding glass doors and lift the couch, with Grinds still on it, to a trailer behind a pickup truck. Removing her from the couch would be too painful, since her body was grafted to the fabric. After years of staying put, her skin had literally become one with the sofa and had to be surgically removed. She died at Martin Memorial Hospital South, still attached to the couch. Neighbors say they had no idea Grinds lived at the duplex, though they had seen Thomas and some children outside.

(WFTV article here)

Theft Of X-Box Leaves 6 Dead In Daytona Beach

2004-08-08T15:58:00.000-04:00

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — An ex-convict who blamed a young woman for taking his video game system and clothes recruited three teenagers to stab and beat her and five others to death, investigators said Sunday. The 22-year-old woman was singled out for an attack so vicious that even dental records were useless in trying to identify her. Some of the victims were attacked in their sleep, according to authorities. The victims' bodies were found Friday in a blood-spattered home. All four suspects have been charged with first-degree murder and armed burglary, the Volusia County sheriff's department said. Suspected ringleader Troy Victorino, 27, of Deltona, was "very guarded" during questioning, Sheriff Ben Johnson said. Three 18-year-olds were also arrested Saturday: Robert Cannon of Orange City and Jerone Hunter and Michael Salas, both of Deltona. All four were jailed in Daytona Beach while awaiting bail hearings Monday. Johnson wants prosecutors to seek the death penalty, saying, "These families will never get over this." Police said the attack was the culmination of events revolving around a nearby vacant home owned by one of the victims' grandparents and used by Victorino and other squatters as a party house. The four men and two women who were slain had reported being harassed by the alleged assailants. "Officials struggling to come up with a motive for the crime believe the killings were committed over the theft of some clothes and an Xbox game system owned by Victorino," a statement from the sheriff's office said. All four suspects were armed with aluminum bats when Victorino kicked in the locked front door, according to arrest records. The group, who wore black clothes and had scarves on their faces, grabbed knives inside and attacked victims in different rooms of the three-bedroom house, authorities said. The victims, some of whom were sleeping, did not put up a fight or try to escape, Johnson said. All had been stabbed, but autopsies determined the cause of death was the beating injuries. Victorino has spent eight of the last 11 years in prison and was arrested Saturday for a probation violation. His first arrest was in an auto theft when he was 15, according to state records. He has prior convictions for battery, arson, burglary, auto theft and theft. Hunter, who was with Victorino when he was arrested Saturday, agreed to accompany investigators for questioning. Police said he admitted his role in the slayings and identified the other two suspects. All four suspects appeared before a judge Saturday without attorneys. They will have a chance to ask for court-appointed lawyers on Monday. Hunter, a high school wrestler, moved out of his family's house in May but recently agreed to return home for his senior year. "He never seemed to be that type ... that was violent," his father Dan Washington said. "He was a good kid, he just got with the wrong crowd." The sheriff's office has identified five of the victims as Michelle Ann Nathan, 19; Anthony Vega, 34; Roberto "Tito" Gonzalez, 28, who recently moved from New York; Francisco Ayo Roman, 30; and Jonathan Gleason, 18. The sixth victim was believed to be Erin Belanger, 22, whose grandparents own the vacant home and spent the summer in Maine. Joe Abshire, Belanger's brother-in-law, said she described heading to the vacant house to go swimming one day and finding about six people living there. The squatters were kicked out, but deputies were called to the grandparents' house six times in 10 days before the killings. The victims reported a tire-slashing at their home and a threat. The squatters warned Belanger that "they were going to come back there and beat her with a baseball bat when she was sleeping," Abshire, who is married to Erin's sister Jennifer, told The Sun of Lowell, Mass., for Sunday editions. Victorino complained that his belongings were removed from the grandparents' house while he was in jail following a July 29 arrest for battery, Johnson said. He said Victorino found his things boxed up at the victims' house and took them after the killings. The bodies were discovered in the rental home in the working-class community about 25 miles north of Orlando after one of Nathan's co-workers at a Burger King asked someone to visit the house because she had not arrived for work.

(Fox News article here)

Florida Keys Woman, 69, Charged With Shooting At Lobster Divers

2004-08-01T18:30:00.000-04:00

"An elderly woman who was upset about lobster divers in the canal behind her house in the Florida Keys was arrested after allegedly shooting at them with a handgun. Mary Alice Workman, 69, pointed the gun at a pontoon boat and opened fire as others warned divers participating in the state's annual two-day sport lobster hunt, witnesses told investigators. No one was injured."

Cinema, Florida Style

2004-07-31T18:20:00.000-04:00

Meet Warronnica Harris and Terrell Tolson. The Florida couple got popped this week at a St. Petersburg theater after Harris, 23, allegedly refused to end a cell phone call as the opening credits for "Catwoman" rolled. When an off-duty police officer working at the theater tried to curtail her chat, Harris announced that "she could talk as much as she wanted on her phone." In short order, Tolson, 25, joined in, allegedly telling Officer John Douglas that he would kick the cop's ass. The report quotes Harris as saying she would "hit the cracker in his head." In a bid to subdue the duo, Douglas blasted them with pepper spray. Harris and Tolson were eventually charged with disorderly conduct--and spared having to sit through another Halle Berry bomb.

(Article from The Smoking Gun here)

Girlfriend "Hit With Alligator"

2004-07-18T17:16:00.000-04:00

A man in the US state of Florida was arrested after he allegedly used his pet alligator to hit his girlfriend. David Havenner, 41, faces misdemeanour charges of battery and possession of an alligator, said the authorities. Girlfriend Nancy Monico claimed he beat her with his fists and then grabbed the alligator and swung it at her as she tried to escape, said officials. The three-foot (one metre) alligator, which had been kept in a bathtub, was handed to Florida wildlife officials. "He threw [the alligator] at me," 39-year-old Ms Monico said on ABC News. "I don't think he knew what he was doing. He was just throwing it at me." She also alleged Mr Havenner threw beer bottles at her at their home in Port Orange, central Florida, said the sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson. Mr Havenner's version of the story differed. According to the Associated Press, he told investigators Ms Monico bit his hand because she was upset they had run out of alcohol.

(BBC article here)

From News of the Weird

2004-07-18T08:48:00.000-04:00

Clermont, Fla.- Police 911 dispatcher Lorraine Stanton was fired in May as the result of bad performance reviews, not even counting an incident on her last weekend. A woman called to report a street gathering that included a man wanted by police, but according to the 911 tape, Stanton was not helpful: "OK, that person would have to come to the police station, and we would have to check. When they come in, they'd have to bring ID." When the caller asked why a wanted man might voluntarily turn himself in, Stanton replied, "Ma'am, that's the only way we can check." (WFTV-TV 5/18/04)

Woman Killed In Front Of Empty Police Station

2004-07-09T06:08:00.000-04:00

OCALA, Florida (AP)- A community college professor was shot to death in front of an empty police station by her husband, who then committed suicide, police said. Debra Allen Vazquez, 50, had driven to police headquarters to get help, but all officers were on assignment at the time, authorities said.

State-Assisted Suicide, Florida Style

2004-05-28T10:14:00.000-04:00

"Florida executed a man on Wednesday who had strangled a fellow prisoner to get a death sentence rather than serve a life term for sexually assaulting a child. He said he wanted to die but could not bring himself to commit suicide, and that he strangled Wigley in order to force the state to execute him. Blackwelder pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and told the judge at his sentencing hearing that if returned to prison he would kill "as many times as necessary" to be put to death. Abe Bonowitz, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said the execution would show that 'If you don't like your life in prison, kill a prison worker or kill a fellow inmate and the state will assist in your suicide.'"

Spanky the Clown Arrested for Child Porn

2004-05-26T07:24:00.000-04:00

Spanky, a clown with the renowned Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, has been arrested on charges stemming from a child pornography investigation, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Spanky, whose real name is Thomas Allen Riccio, 23, of Jacksonville, Florida, made an initial state court appearance Monday in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he was traveling with the circus, the officials said. He faces 10 counts of third degree sexual exploitation of a minor. The arrest Friday was the latest in an ongoing international probe of subscribers to a child pornography Web site that was shut down in an international raid last July. U.S. Customs agents leading the investigation worked with North Carolina authorities in making the arrest, officials said. Teachers, camp counselors and others with access to children have been high on the priority list for customs officials. Agents have arrested hundreds of people in recent months, after obtaining tens of thousands of names from a credit card billing company allegedly involved in handling payments for Internet porn sites. The investigation, dubbed Operation Predator, linked Riccio to a company in Belarus that provided the billing services for more than 50 child porn Web sites worldwide, officials said. In announcing the arrest, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that when agents searched Riccio's computer, they discovered "thousands of images, many of which involve prepubescent children engaged in various sexual and lewd acts." "This man's profession as Spanky the clown brought him into contact with hundreds of families," said agent Albert Fitchett Jr. in Wilmington, North Carolina. "Behind the clown nose, however, this man appears to have been supporting an industry that trades in the exploitation of children."

(CNN article here)

Gator Wrastlin'

2004-05-21T07:16:00.000-04:00

A 12-year old boy from Deltona, Florida fought off a 7-foot long alligator who bit him on the head and dragged him underwater.

(article here)

Gun Safety Presenter Shoots Himself in Orlando

2004-05-19T07:04:00.000-04:00

A federal drug agent shot himself in the leg during a gun safety demonstration organized by the Orlando Minority Youth Golf Association.

Florida Child-Protection Advocate Arrested For Abusing Child

2004-05-19T06:58:00.000-04:00

MIAMI- A 20-year-old woman was arrested and charged with severely beating her daughter, less than five years after a jury awarded her and her sister $4.4 million for the abuse they suffered while in foster care. Yusimil Herrera was charged with aggravated child abuse after emergency workers found her daughter, Angel Hope Herrera, in their North Miami apartment Sunday evening, battered and unable to breath on her own, police said. Angel was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she was on life support early Tuesday. She had severe head trauma and a broken arm, according to the arrest report. Herrera and her sister entered foster care in June 1986, after her mother left them alone in a park. A 1995 lawsuit alleged the two girls were beaten, molested, raped and forced to take drugs as they grew up in the state system. A Miami jury awarded them $4.4 million on Oct. 22, 1999. But an appeals court overturned that decision, and Herrera and her sister settled with the state earlier this year, said their lawyer Karen Gievers. Angel's godmother raised her until a few months ago, when she moved back into her mother's apartment, said Department of Children & Families spokesman Peter Coats. In February and March, the state's abuse hotline received three calls alleging Herrera was abusing her daughter, he said. DCF asked to take Angel into protective custody in March, but Miami-Dade Juvenile Court Judge Sarah Zabel found there were no grounds for the removal, said Chuck Hood, Miami district administrator for the agency.

(AP article here)