The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is looking for more suspects involved in the shootout at a Brandon apartment complex, naming Luis Monge as the first person arrested. Monge, 21, was identified by a witness seeing him fire a gun at the complex during the shooting on June 10, around 2:50Continue Reading
United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Joel Micah Greenberg (35, Lake Mary) with stalking and unlawful use of a means of identification of another person. If convicted on both counts, Greenberg faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. According toContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office have arrested and charged Terry Knott with grand theft, burglary, and inciting a riot in connection to the attack on Shalimar Jewelers during a George Floyd riot. Knott, 41, was identified when someone recognized his photo from the sheriff’s initial social media post. The burglary happenedContinue Reading
A driver in Holiday jumped the curb, raced through a yard and into the side of a house on Elkhorn Boulevard early Sunday morning, just missing residents, Shari and Rodney Bizier, asleep in their bed. Bay News 9 tweeted about the incident, including a photo from their coverage: “Not quiteContinue Reading
The Florida Supreme Court blocked a voter initiative to ban assault weapons, semiautomatic rifles and shotguns from going to voters in 2022. The Thursday ruling squashed the Ban Assault Weapons Now sponsored constitutional amendment because of deceptive language and the clause grandfathering weapon ownership to the owner only, not theContinue Reading
As a result of Philadelphia Phillies announcing Friday five players had tested positive for COVID-19, every team in Major League Baseball will shut its spring training camp over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The Associated Press (AP) reports that all of the spring complexes in Florida and Arizona will temporarilyContinue Reading
Apple is planning to close nearly a dozen retail stores located in Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina. “Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” an Apple spokesman said Friday in a statement after being contactedContinue Reading
After an article on the Tallahassee Democrat “for calling out judge candidate Kevin Alvarez for being a social media troll of the worst kind,” Peter Schorsch asks Judicial candidate Kevin Alvarez “Why is this guy even running for Judge?” Alvarez is the criminal defense lawyer running against incumbent Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey, nowContinue Reading
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor held a news conference Friday morning on policy changes to the police department. Watch the video clip below. “It’s clear from the days of protest, unrest, grief and rage that it is an important time in our history and for law enforcement,” Castor said. “The TampaContinue Reading
NOTE: This post has been updated to remove “kill” from the title and references to “murder” charges against Mr. Lapin. This was false information provided in the government press release, verified by other media outlets. FULL UPDATE ON CASE: JAMES LAPIN INNOCENT! This is the full press release: United StatesContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says a “peeping tom,” Anthony Garcia, was arrested for breaking into a woman’s home while she showered to open her bedroom curtains, and authorities are seeking if there are additional victims. Garcia, 31, forced his way inside the victim’s residence at the Retreat at CrosstownContinue Reading
As protesters take to the street and Florida reopens many businesses, the rise in coronavirus testing has led to more positive cases and prompted St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman to announce the city will mandate that employees wear face masks in all businesses in the city beginning Friday. “Don’t expect to receiveContinue Reading
The WNBA on Monday announced plans to play a reduced season, with a 22-game schedule that would begin in late July with all of the games being played in Bradenton without fans in attendance “There’s a lot to do between now and the tip of the season, now that we’ve selectedContinue Reading
State Attorney Andrew Warren announced that many protesters were not going to be prosecuted for low level crimes stemming from blocking traffic and assembly violations. Ahead of the November election, Warren’s opposition, Mike Perotti spoke out against the move, criticizing Warren’s “misguided but well-intended policies” as part of the problem.Continue Reading
Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said in a press conference Monday that nearly 70 protesters arrested earlier this month won’t be prosecuted after the State Attorney’s Office decided not to file charges. Warren spoke out about the 667 protesters arrested on the night of June 2 in the downtown areaContinue Reading
Florida Wildlife Conservation officer Julian Keen Jr. was found fatally shot in Hendry County Sunday morning, shot and killed while off-duty trying to stop a hit-and-run driver. The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched to the area of Apache Circle and Nobles Road in Labelle after reports thatContinue Reading
Saturday saw more protests by Black Lives Matter members and supporters speaking out against police brutality and systematic racism. They were joined by a “Back the Blue” rally to support law enforcement after recent criticism took to the streets outside the Tampa Police Department’s District 1 building on W. TampaContinue Reading
Polk County schools are planning now for a fall reopening. Over 30,000 parents responded to a Polk County survey to integrate with the district’s task force. “We see a strong sense for students to return to some sense of normalcy,” said Michelle Townley, interim assistant superintendent of curriculum. “This hasContinue Reading
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) has reported as of this morning 73,552 total COVID-19 cases and 2,925 deaths. This is up more than 2,500 cases and 48 deaths since Friday’s released data. Nearly 1.4 million tests have been performed to date, according to DOH data. When asked about theContinue Reading
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested a former probation officer, Rutherford Jean, charging him with two counts of sexual battery and blackmailing victims for sexual favors. An inmate at the Pinellas County Jail filed a complaint in October 14, 2019 to detention deputies that her probation officer had blackmailed herContinue Reading
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced that a Port Richey man, Angelo David Salvarezza, has been sentenced to federal prison on charges of drug dealing and firearm possession. Salvarezza, 38, of Port Richey, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for possessing with theContinue Reading
