In a circuit court decisions with wide implications about the rights of a fetus, a judge ruled a woman had the right to decline hospitalization against doctors’ concerns over her pregnancy.
Cops/Courts
Weekly Crime Reports: Aug. 2-8, 2010
A child burned by a grill, a larceny at a cyber cafe, cars broken into at Palm Harbor Parkway, and more.
450 Vehicles for 350 Palm Coast City Employees? Council Bridles at “Urban Legend”
Palm Coast’s city government owns a total of 285 vehicles, including dozens of off-road mowers, utility vehicles and firetrucks, though it also has a well-endowed vehicle fund.
Justice for Sale: Half a Million Dollars
Slosh Races for 3 Local Circuit Court Seats
Eleven candidates in three races in the 7th Judicial Circuit have raised an average of $44,000 each, more than 60 percent of it their own money.
John Selden, Candidate for Circuit Court Judge, Group 5 (Flagler County)
Voters’ Guide for John Selden, Candidate for Florida 7th Circuit Court Judge, Group 5, Flagler County, vying to replace Judge Kim C. Hammond.
Sid Nowell, Candidate for Circuit Court Judge, Group 5 (Flagler County)
Voters’ Guide for Sid Nowell, Candidate for Florida 7th Circuit Court Judge, Group 5, Flagler County, vying to replace Judge Kim C. Hammond.
Joe Horrox, Candidate for Circuit Court Judge, Group 5 (Flagler County)
Voters’ Guide for Joe Horrox, Candidate for Florida 7th Circuit Court Judge, Group 5, Flagler County, vying to replace Judge Kim C. Hammond.
Ed Haenftling Jr., Candidate for Circuit Court Judge, Group 5 (Flagler County)
Voters’ Guide for Ed Haenftling Jr., Candidate for Florida 7th Circuit Court Judge, Group 5, Flagler County, vying to replace Judge Kim C. Hammond.
Marc Dwyer, Candidate for Circuit Court Judge, Group 5 (Flagler County)
Voters’ Guide for Marc Dwyer, Candidate for Florida 7th Circuit Court Judge, Group 5, Flagler County, vying to replace Judge Kim C. Hammond.
Dennis Craig, Candidate for Circuit Court Judge, Group 5 (Flagler County)
Voters’ Guide for Dennis Craig, Candidate for Florida 7th Circuit Court Judge, Group 5, Flagler County, vying to replace Judge Kim C. Hammond.
Judge Them Before One of Them Judges You: The Race For Kim C. Hammond’s Seat
Six lawyers, including Bunnell’s Marc Dwyer and Sid Nowell, are vying to replace Circuit Judge Judge Kim C. Hammond, who’s retiring after 32 years.
Scammed Into a Lease and Facing Eviction While the Accused Realtor Lives Nearby
A renter faces her fourth foreclosure-driven eviction in a year as local Realtors are struck with what appears to be a rogue Realtor’s rental scam in Palm Coast’s R Section.
Laying Off Employees, Palm Coast Is Set to Pay at Least $83,000 for One School Deputy
The school deputy Palm Coast is paying for is a way to get four other extra deputies on Palm Coast’s streets for large portions of the year–at the schools’ expense.
This Year: 5 School Deputies for $300,000; Four Years Ago: 9 Deputies for $222,000
The sheriff has virtually eliminated his department’s share of the cost of keeping deputies in schools, forcing the district to pick up most of the costs.
Weekly Crime Reports, July 19-25, 2010
Hit-and-run sprees against mailboxes, a deputy draws a gun on a suspect, a boyfriend allegedly threatens to put out a cigarette in a woman’s eye, a deputy hits a pole, and more.
News-Journal Dealer and 71-Year-Old Who “Had 2 Beers, Maybe 3,” in US1 Smash-Up
The News-Journal dealer was driving north when an elderly man who’d just been at the White Eagle Lounge pulled out of the driveway, causing the wreck. Neither was seriously injured.
Arrested for Trying to Take a Child While Impersonating Police
One of the two men is the father of a child barely a few months old, whom the two men tried to take away from her grandmother.
Questions of Relevance and Relevant Questions Over Shooting at Sheriff’s Capt.’s House
Wagons circled around a sheriff’s captain after we reported on a shooting at his house, revealing a disturbing double-standard when law enforcement isn’t in the best light.
About That Shooting at Sheriff’s Capt. Mark Carman’s Palm Coast House
In an incident never publicly reported, Jane Carman, the Palm Coast Sheriff’s Captain’s wife, fired two shots at their home while intoxicated and turned on a patrol car’s sirens.
A Suspicious Death in Bunnell, A Suicide at European Village
The father of three young boy is found dead in his bed after two days, and a 31-year-old woman hangs herself at European Village.
This Week’s Crime Reports
A flat-screen TV robbery that mostly ended on the cutting room floor, several stolen items from unlocked cars, and more.
Dirt-Bikes Crashing Around Bunnell Send 3 to Hospitals, Including an 11 Year Old
An 11 year old, a 16 year old and a 19 year old ended a late night of speeding around Bunnell on two dirt-bikes with broken limbs.
Chalking Up Crime-Fighting to Sidewalk Art
Sidewalk chalk artists are summoned to the campus of Flagler Palm Coast High School the evening of Aug. 3 for a contest and much more.
More Roll Than Smash in Early Morning Crash on U.S. 1 Near Matanzas Woods
A 62-year-old driver from Palm Coast and on her way to work in an SUV rolled once off US1 Thursday morning.
Sheriff’s Budget: Few New Deputies, No Raises, More Bottled Water and Drug Money
The 2011 budget, reflecting the enduring recession, is almost the same as it was this year, leaving the number of deputies on patrol virtually static.
Tennis Bracelet Stolen from Kay Jewelers on SR 100
The man wasn’t happy with a two-carat bracelet. He was shown a three-carat one. He liked it, and ran out of the store.
Regulations Will Put Dog and Other Animal Owners on a Tighter Leash in Palm Coast
Palm Coast’s proposed dog and animal control ordinance would impose more restrictive rules for pet owners and steeper fines for violations.
3 Connected to a String of ATM Burglaries Arrested on July 4
Two Palm Coast men and one from Massachusetts, now in jail, are tied to burglaries in Flagler Beach, the Hammock and Palm Coast.
Prescription Pill-Popping By Far a Leading Killer as Florida’s Drug Deaths Spike 20%
Oxycodone, the addictive prescription pain-killer also known as OxyContin, directly caused more deaths in Florida in 2009 than cocaine, heroin and morphine combined.
Crime Reports, June 28-July 4, 2010
A stolen tag from Volusia County is recovered, a bank refuses to refund customer for fraudulent charges, and more.
They’re Watching You: Palm Coast Council Turned on by Spy Cameras at Public Parks
City employees can spy on park-goers from ordinary computers networked to the six cameras installed at the park.
Crime Reports, June 21-27
An attempted break-in at the sheriff’s substation in western Bunnell, vandalism in Espanola park, new home tagged with gang graffiti, and more.
Local Ham Radio Association Simulating 24-Hour Emergency Crisis Center Saturday
Local ham radio “hams” will operate under emergency conditions for 24 hours at the Flagler Beach fire station June 27-27. The public is welcome to witness the operation or learn about becoming a ham.
Courtney Cobb, Missing Since June 10, “Has Been Found and Is Cooperating.”
Safe and unharmed, according to Courtney’s mother, it isn’t clear where specifically Courtney is, as an investigation carries on.
Community Rallies to Find Courtney Cobb, FPC Student Missing Since June 10
A 10th grader at FPC and a Palm Coast resident since she was 3, Courtney Cobb is believed to have run away with a boyfriend.
Milano, Ex-Hitman, Ex-Goomba’s Owner and Ex-Calco, Guilty on Gun-Possession Charge
A jury will decide whether the ex-mafia hitman was guilty of possession a gun, which is illegal for felons.
Crime Reports, June 14-20
An inmate with likely mental health issues, bad blood between a baseball team and an umpire, gunplay and an Xbox, and more.
Flagler Beach Hired Police Officer
Despite Violent Record
Flagler Beach’s Lt. Robert Milstead, arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Monday, has had issues in previous law enforcement agencies.
Florida Law on Wrecker-Operators and Penalties for Skirting the System
Florida law prohibits unauthorized wrecker operators from monitoring police communications to scout for potential business.
2 Bunnell Cops Arrested; Commissioner Flynt Embroiled in Favoritism Allegations
Bunnell Commissioner Jimmy Flynt’s Saxon’s Wrecking service is at the center of pattern of police favoritism and misconduct.
Timeline: Bunnell Police Department Firings and Resignations, 2005-2012
The Bunnell Police Department has been riddled with serious internal problems for the past several years. The following is a list of firings, resignations and allegations going back only to 2005.
Fire Guts 4-Unit Condo Block in Flagler Beach
A fire broke out in the attic of a four-unit, two-story block of condominiums at Ocean Park Villas North in Flagler Beach just before 2 p.m. today. The fire rapidly spread across the block in northerly and westerly directions, demolishing the block by 3 p.m. as Flagler Beach firefighters, assisted by several units from other […]
Illegal for 4 Years, Palm Coast’s Red-Light Cameras to Comply With State Law; Cash Dips
State law removes the red-light cameras’ cash-cow incentive and forces cities to abide by uniform state standards.
Allegations of Racist Slurs and Excessive Force Land Flagler Beach Police Officer in Jail
Robert Milstead is accused of using excessive force on an elderly man and pepper-spraying him and another individual when both were handcuffed.
Car Flips on I-95, Causing 3rd Fatality in 3 Days on Flagler Roads
The wreck just before the Matanzas overpass caused the third fatality in three days on Flagler County roads.
2 Women, Both 19, Killed in Single-Truck Flip on US 1’s “Triple-A Curve,” 1 Man Injured
The young people, from Ormond Beach, were returning from the beach and carried evidence of a party. None wore seat-belts.
Flagler Beach Police Get 3-Year Contract, No Raises
The 10 percent-a-year raises of the police rank and file’s previous contract give way to realities of shrinking government budgets and stingy taxpayers.
Crime Reports, June 7-13
They tried to rip an ATM machine off its concrete casing. They failed. But not without causing $35,000 in damages the bank will have to absorb.
Flagler Paramedics Take 2nd and 14th Place in Czech Competition
Flagler’s paramedics competed against 10 countries and 23 teams. Photo gallery included.
Palm Coast Replaces Tired Fire Truck With $374,000 Model
The new fire truck, part of the city fire department’s fleet of 14 vehicles, will burn fuel more cleanly and replaces a model that had logged 169,000 miles since 1995.