On Friday, Tampa Police arrested a 11-year-old student at Monroe Middle School in South Tampa for having a loaded handgun on school property. According to the Tampa Police Department (TPD), another student told school administrators that the had a gun in his backpack. The Tampa Police Department School Resource OfficerContinue Reading
48-year-old Keith Nicoletta of Dade City, Florida has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to launder stolen COVID relief funds. According to the plea agreement, in May 2020, Nicoletta and his conspirators stole more than $1.9 million in emergency loan funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), which were guaranteed byContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) announced the arrest of a Tampa couple who admitted to locking a young boy in a closet for hours at a time. On January 24, 2021, at 5:53 a.m., deputies were called to a Tampa home for reports of a missing child. Once atContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) announced the arrest of a New York City teacher who traveled to Tampa to have sexual intercourse with a minor he met online. On Saturday, January 23, 2021, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Zeshaan Naqvi, 31, picked the victim up at their Tampa residence andContinue Reading
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested and charged a manager at Tyrone Square mall’s Pops 2 Go for repeatedly sexually battering a girl over a 15-month period. Homol faces charges of sex with another minor girl as well. The man, Steven Homol, 35, engaged in illegal sexual acts with a 16-year-oldContinue Reading
A D.C. man, a New Jersey man, and a Colorado man appeared today in United States district courts on charges stemming from their attacks on local and federal law enforcement officers, as well as other crimes, during the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 that disrupted a JointContinue Reading
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) announced today the arrest of 35-year-old Largo man, Steven Homol, for Sexual Battery on a minor. Detectives learned of the investigation in July 2020, after a female victim reported she had been sexually battered on multiple occasions by Homol. The victim stated the abuseContinue Reading
More than 100 anti-fascist demonstrators, Antifa, in Portland attacked police and vandalized the city’s Democratic Party of Oregon building Wednesday afternoon, breaking several windows in the process. Police announced they arrested eight people, between the ages of 18 and 38, some of whom were armed with knives and other weapons.Continue Reading
A California man was arrested and charged yesterday in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Hunter Allen Ehmke, 20, of Glendora, California, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, in violation of Title 18, United StatesContinue Reading
A Haines City man was arrested on Tuesday over online threats online linked to Washington D.C. and President Trump declaring martial law. Identified as Shannon Badgett, the man was charged with communicating a written threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism. Badgett, 53, made the threats onContinue Reading
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday the arrests of two suspects wanted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for desecrating graves and stealing human remains in Mount Dora, after a positive DNA hit from evidence left behind during the crimes positively identified the first suspect, 43-year-old Brian Montalvo Tolentino,Continue Reading
Philippines Airlines flight attendant and UP Mindanao graduate, 23-year-old Christine Dacera was found dead in a City Garden Hotel bathtub in Makati on New Year’s Day. Philippines National Police (PNP) said yesterday the case was solved: Three suspects are in police custody for alleged involvement in the rape-slay of Dacera. InContinue Reading
A federal judge today ordered Walter Kidde Portable Equipment Inc. (Kidde) to pay a $12 million civil penalty in connection with allegations that the company failed to timely inform the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about problems with fire extinguishers manufactured by the company, the Department of Justice announced. Kidde,Continue Reading
U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the El Centro Sector arrested a gang member Sunday afternoon. The incident occurred at approximately 3:47 p.m., when agents assigned to the Calexico Station arrested a man for illegally entering the United States. Agents apprehended the man approximately three miles east of the Calexico Port ofContinue Reading
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) announced the arrest of 37-year-old Thomas Lee Simmons of Winter Haven for Armed Sexual Battery (FL), Armed Robbery (FL), Grand Theft (F3), Dealing in Stolen Property (F2), False Information to a Law Enforcement Officer (M1). The victim called 911 from the Stay Plus Inn inContinue Reading
On Tuesday, December 22, 2020, Traffic Homicide detectives arrested 31-year-old Justin Mathis of Highland City for DUI Manslaughter (F2) and DUI with Property Damage (M1). Mathis was the at-fault driver of a two-vehicle crash that occurred on November 20, 2020, which killed his passengers, 34-year-old Christopher Lofton and 38-year-old David Weldon,Continue Reading
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 48-year-old Daniel Darren Sweeney, a registered sex offender, on the charge of video voyeurism. Following a tip, detectives searched Sweeney’s electronic devices and located pornographic (nude) videos of a child to whom he had access. The victim had no knowledge of theContinue Reading
An assistant principal at Pasco High School in Dade City was arrested this week in Polk County on multiple drug possession charges and Driving under the Influence (DUI). According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, 49-year-old Ralph Stewart from Plant City was determined to be impaired and arrested at a crashContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) announced the arrest of 45-year-old Chad Johnson of Tampa for defrauding a 96-year-old victim out of tens of thousands of dollars in recent months. Johnson became the victim’s caretaker earlier this year. From September to November, Johnson cashed checks he wrote for himself usingContinue Reading
On Friday, US Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Jeffrey L. Davis (22, Tampa) and Tyee Spike II (18, Tampa) with participating in ten armed robberies that occurred in Tampa, Fishhawk, and Riverview between October 13 and October 19, 2020. Davis and Spike are jointlyContinue Reading
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced recently the arrest of a Lakeland High School teacher and coach for possessing child pornography. 46-year-old Shawn Fitzgerald was charged with 408 counts of possessing child pornography. Fitzgerald was also a Youth Director at First United Methodist Church in Bartow. The investigation began afterContinue Reading
