Squatters arrested on Milwaukee Ave., chasing an undocumented alien in Holland Park, midnight obscenities in the Mondex, a probation violation on speed, and the usual thefts from unlocked cars.
Cops/Courts
Proposed Amendment to End Ban on Government Funding of Religion is Challenged
Proposed Amendment 7 on the 2012 ballot deletes a provision in the Florida constitution that bars government funding of religious institutions, replacing it with a prohibition against denying funds to anyone based on religious identity or belief.
Nuisance Bust in Palm Coast’s R Section Has Neighbors Cheering as 5 Are Arrested
The house at 20 Rockne Lane is in foreclosure and severely damaged inside, and was allegedly used for minor drug activity. Five people were arrested there.
Red-Light Cameras Draw Class-Action Lawsuit Citing Constitutional Violations
If successful, the lawsuit would have far-reaching consequences as it seeks reimbursements for all ticket fines, which in Palm Coast exceed $1.35 million since 2008.
68-Year-Old Driver Jailed in Flagler After Eluding 5 Cop Agencies and Ramming a Cruiser
Ronald Pinkerton, 68, was chased by Port Orange, Holly Hill, Ormond Beach, Volusia and Flagler cops early Thursday before finally be stopped by Flagler deputies and taken to jail, his face lacerated and bloodied.
Visitor in Critical Condition After Car Strikes Him Near the Flagler Beach Pier
Antonio Branca was walking back to his car near the pier in Flagler Beach was struck by a Cadillac Thursday afternoon and taken to Halifax hospital in critical condition.
DCF Warning About People Impersonating Child Protection Agency’s Investigators
Impersonators of DCF investigators have the Sheriff’s offices in Santa Rosa and Bay counties on the look-out, and the Florida Department of Children and Families warning parents against engaging with individuals lacking proper credentials from DCF.
Florida Lawmaker Proposes Broader GPS Tracking of Juvenile Offenders
Florida’s Juvenile Justice system eliminated its ankle-monitoring system in 2004. GPS tracking would be cheaper, but also possibly more pervasive, and paid for out of local dollars set aside for various court initiatives.
Federal Judge Calls Florida’s Drug-Testing Of Welfare Recipients Unconstitutional
Judge Mary Scriven called Florida’s requirement that welfare recipients be drug-tested a violation of 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches, and dismissed claims that the law would save money.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter
A son allegedly beats up his elderly mother just back from visiting her husband at the hospital, a pit bull bites a 10-year-old boy, trespassers aplenty, and again with people who don;t lock their cars then call the cops to complain about stolen GPS devices.
Flagler County Jail Daily Bookings: Oct. 21-28, 2011
Flagler County jail daily bookings for the week of Oct. 21-28, 2011. With links to inmate search functions, visitation rules and correspondence requirements.
Class-Action Lawsuit Calls Florida’s In-State College Tuition Restrictions Unconstitutional
American citizens who’ve lived in Florida for years and have all the documents to prove it are denied in-state tuition rights the moment they can’t prove that their parents are lawful Florida residents–an unconstitutional form of discrimination against citizens, the Southern Poverty Law Center charges in the lawsuit.
Bunnell’s James Hayes, 22, Arrested for Carjacking an 81-Year-Old Woman
James Hayes had been jailed a dozen times in Flagler, on petty charges, until the Oct. 6 carjacking outside a Burger King on U.S. 1 and Grenada Blvd. in Volusia. The car was found Monday in Bunnell.
Night Clerk at Microtel on Old Kings Road Tied and Robbed at Gunpoint
The armed robbery at Microtel a little after 3 a.m. Monday is the second armed robbery in a 1-mile radius in six days. Last week, a resident of the Woodlands was robbed at gunpoint while walking nearby.
Pink Armies Invade Flagler In Varieties Of Breast Cancer Awareness Campaigns
The Flagler County fire department, Palm Coast government, Florida Hospital Flagler, schools and organizations are all in on raising awareness to battle breast cancer in October.
Daily Wadsworth Elementary Jam On Parkview Drive Should End as No Parking Signs Go Up
For several years, Parkview Drive along Wadsworth Elementary has turned into a hazardous, child-crossing parking lot as school lets out. Soon, No Parking signs will go up along the two-lane road, to the displeasure of some and relief of others, in hopes of ending the hazard.
Flagler County Jail Daily Bookings: Oct. 14-28, 2011
Flagler County jail daily bookings for the week of Oct. 14-28, 2011. With links to inmate search functions, visitation rules and correspondence requirements.
Scanner Rash: Man Shoots Mom by Accident, 3 More Teens Arrested in Burglary
The shooting took place on Belvedere Lane, the burglary on Eastwood Drive, following by hours another string of teen burglaries. Sheriff Don Fleming is wondering where the children’s parents are.
Two Teens Arrested After Rash of B-Section Burglaries Involving Unlocked Cars
Anthony Clark, 18, of Palm Coast, and William Medders, 17, of Daytona North (the Mondex) were riding bikes on Beechway Lane at 3 a.m. with GPS devices, a radar detector and a Bluetooth in their bags.
Quiet Woodlands Evening Shaken by an Armed Robbery; Sheriff Looking for Leads
A 32-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s Woodlands was robbed of his cash and cigarettes at gunpoint at Oak Trails Boulevard and Blare Drive, just off of Old Kings Road, just before sunset Tuesday evening.
Flagler County Jail Daily Bookings: Oct. 7-14, 2011
Flagler County jail daily bookings for the week of Oct. 7-14, 2011. With links to inmate search functions, visitation rules and correspondence requirements.
Major Power Outages in Flagler Restored, But Many Smaller Ones Remain
Winds of up to 60 miles per hour have downed power lines and trees, cutting power for 6,000 customers in Flagler County as of 10:30 p.m. See how you can track your outages and find out reconnection times.
Tasers and the Flagler County School Board: Feeble Surrender to an Instrument of Torture
The re-introduction of Tasers on campus is disturbing on many levels, not least because the Flagler school board had no evidence they were needed. Nor did it consider the barbaric implications of Tasers in school settings.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter
Defrauding Golden Corral, a stolen Jeep at St. Joe’s Plaza, a man jailed for attacking his mother after refusing to do the dishes, a case of bullying at Matanzas High School, and innumerable larcenies and burglaries.
School Board Votes 4-1 To Allow Tasers Back on Campuses, With Vague Conditions
School Board member Andy Dance wants the superintendent to develop a school-centered policy with the sheriff on using Tasers, but the sheriff’s office is resistant to mixing school policies with its own.
Man With Prior Record, Believed to Be Target of Monday’s Burglary, Is Arrested
Brooklyn-born Brian J. Epshteyn, 25, was jailed three times since January, and a fourth on Tuesday as detectives believe his drugs were the target of three men’s assault on a Brunswick Lane home Monday.
“My Boyfriend Shot Him”: Sheriff’s Office Releases 911 Call on Brunswick Lane Invasion
The Flagler Sheriff’s Office released an edited version of the 911 call from the Brunswick Lane home three men invaded Monday, resulting in the shooting of one of them and the arrest of all three after a manhunt.
Smoldering Fire in Flagler Jail’s Laundry Room Causes Heavy Smoke, No Evacuations
Firefighters were called to the Flagler County jail at 5:45 this afternoon in response to a fire reported in the facility’s laundry room. No evacuations reported, though heavy smoke was.
A Suspect Is Shot and 3 Held After Drug-Related Home Invasion on Brunswick La.
Three suspects invaded a home on Brunswick Lane in Palm Coast Monday morning in a drug-related incident. One suspect was shot in the head by a resident in the home, and flown to Halifax, two others caught later.
Trying Tests: Baby Dies, SWAT Team Caught in Exploding Meth Lab–10 Times in a Row
Not to worry: the mayhem was all part of Flagler County Fire Rescue’s second annual paramedic competition, featuring 10 Florida teams and 10 scenarios over two days designed to test EMS skills in extreme situations.
At European Village Jewelry Store, Two Unspeakable Words, One Charge, Then Jail
Dan and Edith Ferrena have run Palm Coast Gold Buyers at European Village for more than two years. At noon Friday, their world unraveled in a brief confrontation with a man who threw a supreme insult at Edith and accused Dan of pointing a gun at him.
James Harding of Palm Coast Airlifted to Halifax After His Truck Overturns at SR100 and CR302
James Gary Harding was traveling east toward Bunnell on County Road 302 when he lost control of his Chevy Silverado at 302’s curving intersection with State Road 100.
Bunnell Man Charged With Rape and Kidnapping as Child Pleads for Mom’s Safety
Louis Donald Jackson is accused of raping a woman at his Bunnell house while the woman’s son allegedly pleaded with him not to hurt his mother and heard the ordeal unfold from the other side of a locked door.
Two Crashes a Day on Flagler Roads: DMV’s Annual Report Adds Up Grim Miles
In Flagler, there were 716 crashes in 2010, about two crashes a day, 11 percent of them involving alcohol. There were a total of 23 fatalities on Flagler roads, up from 16 in 2009 and 2007. A complete report of local and state crashes.
SR100 Hit-and-Run Fatality: Investigators Focusing on Three Flagler School Buses
Three Flagler school district buses, with protruding mirrors, passed by the scene of the hit-and-run within 15 minutes of the time when Alex Taylor is believed to have been killed Tuesday morning while riding his bike.
Rickey Clint Green Struck and Killed on I-95 By Semi; 3rd Flagler Road Fatality in 3 Days
An Ontario-based 18-wheel truck struck Rickey Green, who was on foot, on I-95 southbound, at mile marker 280, at 3 p.m. today, killing Green, who was reportedly standing in the roadway when he was struck.
54-Year-Old Cyclist Alex Taylor Killed in Apparent Hit and Run; FHP Looking for Leads
Alex Taylor of Bunnell, 54, was killed while riding his bicycle in front of the Government Services Building either very late last night or before sunup this morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
David Lloyd Rockey, 67, Killed in Morning Motorcycle Crash on US1
David Lloyd Rockey, a 67-year-old resident of Palm Coast, was killed this morning in a crash with a car driven by Julia Tucker just after 8 as Rockey rode his Honda motorcycle north on U.S. 1, just past the Volusia-Flagler County Line.
Citing “Deliberate Indifference,” Woman Sues Bunnell Over Ex-Cop’s Sex-Laced Defamation
The case centers on the actions of then Cpl. Nick Massaro in late November 2009, who posted an ad on Craigslist soliciting sex from black men–and signed the ad with the name of the woman now suing him, Bunnell and the Bunnell Police Department.
Ride In Peace: Kirt Smith (1995-2011) Would Have Been 16 on Thursday
Kirt Smith, who died after being hit on Seminole Woods Blvd. while riding his bike on Aug. 26, had received the bike as an early 16th-birthdya present. A growing memorial has gone up at the crash site.
Sheriff, Citing Head-Butting Incident, Asking School Board to Let Tasers Back on Campus
A school deputy was briefly overpowered by a student at Matanzas High School in August, triggering renewed discussion of letting school cops carry Tasers. The board has prohibited Tasers on campus since 2005.
Frank Words and Revelations at Flagler Bar’s First Minority in Law Symposium
Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano, Judge Hubert Grimes, Mark Dwyer and students headlined the first of what’s to be an annual symposium to encourage minority participation in the law, particularly among students.
Bus Attack: Hundreds of Students’ Day Delayed By Vandalism at Transportation Depot
Rachael Mitroski, 26, removed buses’ radiator caps, opened all sorts of compartments and put brooms on buses’ roofs before she was found out. Almost two dozen buses were affected, and none could be used this morning for their normal runs.
Sgt. Frank Celico, 1978-2011
Sgt. Frank Celico was buried today following a solemn service and two funeral processions that brought various parts of Bunnell and Palm Coast briefly to a standstill. Celico was 33.
Road Closures for Frank Celico Funeral And Procession in Palm Coast Today
For the Frank Celico funeral and procession, several Palm Coast and Bunnell road closures are expected today between 9 a.m. and past noon. The full itinerary is included.
Services Set for Sgt. Frank Celico, 11-Year Veteran of the Flagler Sheriff’s Office, Who Died Sept. 9
Viewing is Wednesday at Craig Flagler Palms, the Funeral is Thursday. Frank Celico started his law enforcement career with the Flagler County Sheriff’s office in 2000.
Anger, Alcohol and a Rifle Shot a Few Blocks from Wadsworth and Buddy Taylor Schools
Patrick Kilichowski, 64, was reportedly angry that his girlfriend was chatting with neighbors, and allegedly drunk, when he walked out of his house with a Winchester rifle–and eventually fired a shot, he says by accident. He was jailed on several aggravated assault charges.
Judge Throws Out Challenge to Fair District Amendment, Panicking Motley Incumbents
Federal District Judge Ursula Ungaro rejected the argument that the anti-gerrymandering amendment allows voters to meddle in legislative redistricting. Weird alliances between incumbent Democrats and Republicans have formed to keep fighting the voter-approved amendment.
When Cops Track Your Cell Calls and Location On Public Roads: No Expectation of Privacy
Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeals Wednesday ruled that tracking a drug dealer through his cell phone as he traveled across the state was legal as long as he did not go onto private property.
Palm Coast’s Joann Boardman, 48, Found Dead in Maine After Her Son’s Wedding
Joann Boardman, 48, had been attending her son’s wedding in Maine. She was found in her car, submerged, beyond a state road that ends at the water’s edge near Bar Harbor, Maine.